Please rise as you're able for the pledge of allegiance.
I pledge allegiance to the light of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands.
One nation, I'm sure that you did as a little bit further, and you know, that's tomorrow.
Thank you, and welcome everybody to our January 21st city council meeting.
Before we get started, I just wanted to give a thank you to council member Miller and public works director Nemire for shoveling the walkway to get you all in the room here.
So thank you.
Some servant leadership there from council member Miller and just doing his job.
So we open each of our meetings with an open comment period and this is an opportunity for anyone from the public to speak on items that we will not be taking public testimony during a public hearing later on the agenda.
Each person has up to two minutes to speak for a total of 20 minutes.
Now the council also has the ability if we go over those 20 minutes to to extend that period.
I will be keeping track through two methods.
One is the stop light here and you'll see a green it'll turn yellow.
I think when you have a minute left and red when you are to stop.
Also up to my left is the red digital clock and that will count down the two minutes.
I'd also ask each speaker to be concise to allow more people to speak.
And participants are also encouraged to limit comments generally to topics that are within the scope and jurisdiction of the council's ability to affect policy.
Also members and staff do not respond to your comments during public comment but will instead follow up on any specific requests separately.
If you have materials to share with the council please give them to the city clerk who's to my right and she will distribute them to the council.
You will be invited up in the order you signed up and we will start with Kyle Pike.
Council president.
Members of the city council.
My name is Kyle Pike.
I'm a disabled combat veteran and a student with a state university and I come before you with a very simple problem.
Plug in your city.
You have the Gestapo forces of an illegal tyrannical federal government seizing power in my home and corrupting the good will of an entire state.
Plug in people of color as if they were other to nothing but an alien in illegal.
And you have done nothing here to this moment to stop the tyranny.
I never served to witness in my home.
Rochester.
Is a community for Somali Americans.
For Irish and German Americans.
For Italian Americans.
For all Americans.
Legal.
Or otherwise.
And you are called tonight.
By a veteran of the armed forces of this country whose brothers and sisters are being plagued right now.
Because of the color of their skin.
You are demanded here forward.
You take action to prevent the Gestapo Nazi forces illegally invading my home.
I did not serve for you to allow tyranny to destroy Rochester.
I served to prevent it.
Thank you Mr. Pike.
I'm going to just say that you know we're going to hear some very impassioned speeches and we.
We need for you to refrain from applause.
It allows the speakers for us to hear from more speakers.
So please try to refrain even when there are very impassioned people speaking.
So with that we're going to go to Jared.
Jared.
How my name is Jared.
I'm a resident of Rochester.
Good evening Mayor Norton.
Council members.
The residents of Rochester and fellow Americans.
It's an honor to speak with you tonight to share my thoughts about the moment we're in.
To acknowledge the stress tension and fear that so many of us are feeling right now.
In particular, I want to acknowledge the acute pain, undo stress and fear of felt by members of our immigrant communities.
Our Somali brothers and sisters.
Our Mexican neighbors and anyone who feels vulnerable scared or as though their rights are being questioned or their dignity is being tested.
I do not pretend to have the answers nor am I here to criticize you.
I am here as an individual as a father, a husband, and a friend.
To pose a simple set of questions for us all to consider.
What kind of city, county, state, and country do want to live in?
What values do we cherish?
What is our response to rhetoric meant to divide and to mean?
What are our children thinking when they see videos of people being taken from their homes, their vehicles, their jobs, and even their places of worship?
When my three sons ask me, dead, why is this happening?
Why is my friend missing school?
What do I tell?
Do I explain policy?
Do I ignore the question?
Do I change the subject?
Or do I teach some of the values and principles I try to embody and hope for them to emulate?
Humility, empathy, rational thought, democracy, friendship, kindness to the stranger, help for the needy.
To I model cruelty, to I brag, boast, or pontificate about my ideologies or my prejudices.
So I ask those of you on this council and government who have been charged with upholding the constitution and serving the greater good to reflect on these very questions.
I ask you to use your authority to set a moral example worthy of the trust placed in you.
Because it's always the right time to do the right thing.
Thank you.
Next we have Toby Holiday.
All right.
Hi, council.
My name is Toby Holiday.
I'm a Rochester resident and a member of workers strike back.
In the last two weeks I have personally observed ice agents driving recklessly in our city, running red lights,
speeding egregiously on our roads and driving carelessly through our neighborhoods.
They have taken workers from construction sites and other workplaces.
They have ripped our neighbors from their families.
They've also aggressively claimed that they quote don't need a fucking warrant to be on private property.
These dogs are dangerous and negligent.
They are not welcome here and the longer this council goes without acting, the more of a threat they pose to our community.
We demand that you declared today that the city of Rochester is a sanctuary city and will truly stop any in all collaboration with ice.
We demand that you direct the city attorney to prosecute civil and legal offenses committed against our neighbors by ice.
Ice also routinely uses local surveillance databases like driver location data and public CCTV cameras to track people with the help of local police departments.
We demand that the city council and all drone and camera surveillance projects that can be exploited by ice.
More broadly to fight back against Trump and the billionaire classes agenda, we urgently need mass protests and strike action nationally.
That's why workers strike back is supporting the day of mass protest and strike this Friday, January 23rd.
Back in 2017 when Trump announced his first Muslim travel ban, socialist city council member Shama Sawaan and fellow workers and socialist in Seattle.
Shut down sea tack airport, preventing planes from taking off or landing, forcing a reversal on that ban.
This is the type of militant action needed.
This is why workers strike back voted to run Shama for US Congress as she is explicitly calling to shut down ice and all the tension centers.
Shama's opponent, democratic congressman.
Thank you.
I'm wrapping up.
Thank you.
I'm smitten.
But in 2002 to form ice as part of the Homeland Security Act, along with the majority of Democrats in Congress.
You have to stop.
Two minutes is insulting to all of us here.
We will let you because of the abject failures of both Democrats and Republican parties.
We are in dire need of a new party for working people in immigrants.
If you agree, I urge you to get involved with workers strike back and join us in fighting back against ice.
Thank you.
Solidarity and free Palestine.
Now I'm going to ask folks to please.
That is our role as two minutes.
And it just allows us to hear from more folks.
Next is Susan Robinson, Denlow.
I'm a retired educator, specifically from K-12, Consol.
I have listened to students concerned as a part of my supportive position.
I'm sure staff are listening now because children and young adults have much to be concerned about, specifically how eggs is influencing and interfering in their lives.
At a protest at Mayo High School this last week a teacher shared that half of her ethnic students are no longer showing up for school.
They are afraid that they will be taken on their way to or from school or they don't leave home because they're afraid that their parents will have been taken while they were in school.
At the same protest I was walking to my car and two girls in front of me were sharing that their two friends, ethnic friends who were approached by ice on a field trip.
Our Rochester High School students had a protest or a walk out last week and objection to ice in our city.
Our youth are very savvy, they're smart, they're committed, and they're protective of their classmates and friends.
They should not have to deal with these issues.
In the Minneapolis area at a rally, I heard an elementary school parents say that she was asked by her principal to undergo a vetting process so she could qualify to take the students left at school, whose parents had been taken by ice.
In addition to my concerns for children and young adults I visited businesses asking them to become a fourth amendment workplace posting a sign that states ice is not allowed in their establishment and cannot take a staff or customer without an appropriate warrant.
I'm sure you're aware of some of those who have been taken from our city, the restaurants, the construction site, the Mayo ramp.
The restaurants are now hiring family and driving to staff to inform work to stay open.
I have four asked, one, publicly called to publicly call for ice to leave our city and county and state following the mayor's request.
Prohibit use of government property for their operations, three contact congressional officials to say no more ice funding by the federal government.
This needs to be done by January 30th.
And for us. Thank you, ma'am.
One, twenty three, economic shutdown.
Thank you. Next three. Next we have James Smith.
Good evening, gentlemen.
I have a simple request. I would like to have the sewer line extended on 11th Avenue southwest. I sent you all an email.
We seem to have gotten lost in the mix over the years because the LC industrial part has sewer everywhere, but our four lots do not.
So I met with staff and they were very helpful. Aaron Aaron. Aaron looks down was very helpful.
And I'd like to request the city extend the sewer in coordination with future redevelopment.
We have ten acres on the exit to the airport.
And I think it's a beautiful site for a commercial venture such as a hotel or whatever.
But we need to have the sewer line put in somewhere in the next five years because we'd like to develop redevelop the ten acre.
Thank you. Thank you.
And I am a veteran.
Thank you.
Next we have Emma Smith.
Hello, I'm a member of workers strike back and I'm here tonight because ice agents are terrorizing our cities.
Thousands of immigrant working and poor people are being abducted innocent people have been murdered.
A bi-partisan authorization of $900 billion for weapons and war. Not cooperating is not enough. Rochester police recently posted that they defer immigration enforcement to authorized federal agents.
It kind of sounds like they're just allowing federal thugs to carry out violent KKK values in our community. So who is defending us against this stark imbalance of power?
The Democrats and Republicans on this council have not raised a finger to oppose ICE and by default are helping them. We urgently need mass protests and strike actions, and it is up to all of us to build movements like the one being organized for this Friday, the 23rd.
This council seems more interested in deliberating, which big business boots need the most leaking.
They could announce that the city of Rochester is stopping all collaboration with ICE, including the sharing of information and data on residents.
The passiveness of this council makes them in accomplices to white supremacy and all attacks on working people. This will be remembered when we're voting on the four seats up for reelection this year.
We know what is possible based on the wins of former social and city councilwoman, Shama Sowan, whose wins have already been spoken about this evening.
And she's now running for U.S. Congress, bringing the same fighting approach abolish ICE and the U.S. military occupations and the genocide in Gaza.
And to anyone listening, please join our fight at workersstrikeback.org.
Thank you. Next, next, next we have David Montecwin.
David Montecwin.
So my name is David Montecwin. I'm also a member of workersstrikeback. First of all, an extent solidarity with every activist and young person who is spoken out against ICE this evening.
And every activist who is face the rest for speaking out against ICE.
Trump's ICE is terrorizing American cities.
A peaceful activist and 37 year old mother Renee Good was murdered by ICE and Minneapolis just last week.
The public approval rating for ICE has plummeted since Trump took office and a majority of American people now disapprove of ICE.
Hundreds of thousands of working-class people have taken to the streets across the nation to demand ICE out of their states and to shut down the detention centers and abolish ICE.
But despite these powerful movements of immigrants and working people, the Democrats at both the congressional and the local level have not raised one singer against ICE.
The Rochester City Council could declare today that their cities will stop all collaboration with ICE, including ICE routinely using local surveillance databases like driver location data and public CCTV cameras that others have spoken about tonight.
They could sponsor and pass legislation criminalizing the infringement of first amendment protected activities in relation to ICE protests.
And they could make it clear that any ICE officer who attacks an immigrant or any other person will be held fully accountable.
But what is most paramount of all of this is that both local Democrats and those in Congress could have been using their prominent public platforms, which can reach millions of working people and immigrants to launch mass protests and civil disobedience, but they have not done that.
Working people need the kind of leadership and fight back that workers strike back Founders Socialist City Councilwoman Shama Sawaan.
Brought in her decade as a socialist on the Seattle City Council.
That's why I'm a member of workers strike back and I urge any working or young person who's watching this to go to workers strike back the ORG.
Thank you, Mr. Now.
Thank you, Mr. Monica.
Next we have Isaac Johnson.
Good evening. My name is Isaac Johnson. I'm a resident here in Rochester also CEO of the healthcare organization that's located here as well.
I want to tell the City Council that ICE is not just impacting residents, but it's also a health issue.
We've seen at our health center about 86% of our patients are not showing up to their appointments just because they're afraid to leave their house.
We've had so many conversations with patients where they're afraid to even go to the pharmacy, pick up medications.
These are diabetic patients that need their medicines.
We've really had to change our strategy of how we actually care for patients.
It's really sad to see that we're actually having to mobilize and actually get out into the community.
We're having to use extensive manpower hours to really reach the community and make sure that they're still healthy.
Because they're not coming into clinic because they're not going into pharmacy. They are not getting the healthcare that they need.
This is a serious concern and I really hope that City Council will take this under consideration and act to make sure that we can make sure that our residents of Rochester and this community is safe.
Thank you so much for your timing consideration.
Thank you.
We're roughly at 20 minutes.
We have 12 more speakers that have signed up.
Is there a motion to suspend the rules and hear from the remainder of the speakers on the sign-up sheet?
So moved.
A moved by council member of Frederick, second by council member Doring.
All in favor say hi.
All right.
Opposed say nay.
Motion passes.
Next up we have Mr. Peter Veving.
Hi. Hi. My name is Pete and I'm a resident at Ward 5 in Ward 5.
I want to thank the council for this opportunity to speak.
I'll be brief.
We are being overrun by ice.
Our immigrant community is under attack.
We can't let this slide.
I urge you to find ways to preserve our freedom and secure our rights no matter what color our skin is.
If we don't act now, this is just the start of something terrible.
We have to act.
Thank you.
Bye.
Thank you.
Next we have Casey Hill.
Hello. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to speak.
I'm here because I'm a resident physician in Rochester, Minnesota.
And many of my patients have stopped showing up to their appointments for fear of ice.
And I'm terrified that one of them will face irreparable harm or even die because they're not able to access critical medical care to treat entirely preventable diseases.
Thank you.
Next we have.
Peep.
Pefree Johnson.
I probably ruined the first name.
Pefree.
Peers.
There you go.
So I'm just going to say nothing.
Nothing that I really have to say nobody everybody else has already said what I'm thinking.
But I just don't want anybody collaborating with them.
And without resistance, there are no standards.
That is all.
Thank you, Mr. Johnson.
Next we have.
Sully.
Mohammed.
So that.
Mohammed.
Good evening.
I'm not here to talk about policy.
I'm here to talk about fear trauma and belonging.
In our community children experiencing terror before they even have words for it.
And our parents, many of them refugees are relieving horrors.
They believe they escaped forever.
They fled civil war.
They survived tyrannical dictators.
They watched loved ones beating disappeared killed by a man who used fear as a weapon.
Now those images are back same gear, same intimidation, same terror.
Only now it's happening outside apartments near hospitals in our city.
We are told, if you have documents, if you are legal, you have nothing to fear.
But that is not what it's happening.
Another Ahmed, a 23 year old Minnesota born woman,
stepped outside our aunts apartment to get seizure medication.
She showed her ID.
She said, I'm a U.S. citizen.
That is not matter.
She was rushed by a dozen men detained.
And the terror triggered a shock inducing seizure.
Citizens are being stopped.
Indigenous people are being questioned.
And they are in their own land.
Not because of what they did.
But because they fit a profile.
And so I go home and face the hardest questions of my life.
What do I tell my 14 year old?
My 11 year old?
My 9 year old princess.
How do I tell them they belong here?
They are not garbage.
When the system around them, say otherwise.
When enforcement is based on appearance instead of evidence.
Legality becomes meaningless.
Citizens as she becomes conditional.
And fear becomes universal.
Parents are choosing between healthcare and safety.
Between food and rent.
Programs caring for our most vulnerable children and women.
And elders are on pause.
Let me be clear.
Silence in moments like this is not neutral.
It is complicit.
We are not asking for sympathy.
We are asking for action.
We need this city to move beyond words.
To take concrete steps that protect residents.
Project racial profiling.
And a farm clearly and publicly that every child in Rochester belongs.
Because a city is judged not by how it treats the powerful.
But by how it protects its children.
Thank you, Mr. Mohammed.
Next we have Gloria Torres Herbe.
Gloria Torres Herbeck.
Hello. Good evening.
Thank you for having us.
This is Norton and Board members.
My name is Gloria Torres Herbeck.
And here as a many hands.
As a teacher.
And as a member of the Alliance.
Whichicanos and his Spanish and Latin Americans.
I am a Mexican American.
I didn't even hear.
Since 1992.
And it's so hard to see the city.
Turning into what is now.
Sorry.
I'm a cryer.
And this is not an exception.
It's so hard to see my students.
No show in the school.
Just because.
Eyes is fight up first up.
Eyes is outside their homes.
Because eyes may be taking.
Take their parents and not be able to come back home.
Sorry.
And parents are in denial.
They think that this is going to happen.
So they're not getting ready.
They're not prepared.
We work as a members.
We work.
Very hard to get them ready to have all the documents ready.
We have a free friend that she was there trying to get.
Not everything.
And it didn't happen.
And now.
A class is trying to help and support the Latino community that we've been working for 20 years.
We are trying to do a humanitarian work.
And even doing that.
We feel the fear to be target.
So here is an example of why I carry on my phone.
I have my red card and my passport and we saw to protect my students.
Yes.
Thank you.
Just.
Latino community.
As a community member.
I do Latino fest.
And now I really.
I'm going to be doing Latino fest or not because of the situation.
So I ask the.
The board trying to see how you guys can support us.
How this is going to affect everybody.
And the financial.
A burning that is going to come.
Thank you.
Next.
We have Samuel.
Samuel Corta.
Mayor Norton.
Council members.
My name is Samuel Cortauer.
I'm a resident of Ward 6.
I speak here tonight.
My very first council meeting not for myself.
But for those who do not feel safe to come here tonight.
I'm here for my neighbor.
Also in Ward 6.
She's young mother.
Born in American citizen.
And she will not take her daughter to preschool without both of their passports because of ice
harassment.
Women and children are living with a justified fear that aren't men and masks will box their car in and traumatize them because of their skin tone or their accent.
She feels trapped.
And may very well be.
If not for her white partner.
Who can still run errands without fear of racial profiling.
And I ask myself.
Is this who we are?
Is this America?
Is this great?
Is this winning?
As a neighbor.
As an army veteran.
As a human being.
My heart cries out for them.
And it demands action.
It demands us all to speak up for our neighbors.
Ice out of Rochester schools.
Ice out of Rochester communities.
Additionally, I implore leaders across the state to call for an investigation into the suspected use of hexaclory ethane to disperse nonviolent crowds in Minneapolis earlier today.
It was removed from military stocks.
As a smoke agent for its dangerous effects on the lungs and liver.
And it has been used today for those very same effects.
Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you. Next, we have Jan Weber.
So current sitting members of the city council, hello, my name is Jen, and I shouldn't be here.
I should be my warm-house with my comfy pants on, like the great introvert, I am. I have never been very active in local politics.
What I'm here tonight, out of my comfort zone, using my voice and my privilege for those who cannot safely be here themselves.
I'm demanding that Ice, Ice, immigration and customs, enforcement, beer, moving and restricted from operating within the city of Rochester.
I personally have not been afflicted by Ice, but I'm deeply afraid for the day's ad.
For myself as part of the disabled population, for my neighbors, my community, and the city.
Rochester's repeatedly stated that it is a little welcoming and inclusive city.
In the city, as current policies, limiting local law enforcement, cooperation with federal immigration enforcement,
and forming city resources are meant to serve residents, not to instill fear.
These commitments matter only if they are enforced fully in without exception, and now is not the time to be complicit.
Ice has become a rogue agency whose tactics, the unwarranted stops arrest in schools and churches,
the repeated use of excessive force, directly contract Rochester's stated values and public safety goals.
Allowing Ice to operate here undermines trust in local government and law enforcement,
which are most vulnerable residents at risk.
Ice claims it exists to retain known by the criminal school, here legally, and that is not what we are seeing.
In one week's time, I've seen mass agents kick indoors.
I've seen peaceful protesters assaulted by pepper spray at close range.
I've seen American citizens detained based only under skin tone or accent.
I've seen Native Americans assaulted and detained.
Like many others here around the world.
I saw the killing of Renee Good.
All in one week's time.
And all in our backyard.
I've seen political and procedure disregarded, and I've seen constitutional rights ignored as if it did not exist.
We can act and don't ignore or try to justify any of the brute actions.
Thank you, Ms. Weber.
Next we have Karen McLaughlin.
Ms. McLaughlin, go ahead.
Good evening, Mayor Norton and City Council members, City Council presidents.
It's nice to be here.
I am here to, first, I want to give my disclaimer.
I'm speaking on my own today, not representing any organizations that I'm involved with.
But I'm here to bring a voice for the voiceless to this council.
In my law practice, I work with a lot of people who experience poverty.
I also work with a lot of young people and many people who are discriminating, experiencing discrimination.
And I bring for you the clear message to encourage you to use your collective voice
to demand isolated Rochester, homestead county, and Minnesota.
I'm also here to remind you that if there are any violations of constitutional rights,
which I believe that there are, I would encourage you to use your voice to ask that the federal government defundice.
In reminding you about constitutional rights, it's important to know that our constitutional rights in our US constitution apply to everyone standing on our soil.
I'm here tonight to speak for parents of US children who are US citizens.
These people are raising their families.
They're not committing violent crime.
There is a system in our government in our court system to adequately address people who are at needing,
because of committing crime to be deported.
Those people are going directly from prison to ICE custody.
They're not out in our neighborhoods.
And there's no reason for ICE to be there to conceivably be detaining people.
There is no constitutional basis for what ICE is doing.
They're stopping people, seizing them, detaining them, and entering people's homes.
They're going to open an obvious act of discrimination and it's based on racial profiling.
That causes fear in our community and it's dangerous.
Thank you, Ms. McLaughan.
And I would ask you to use your collective voice.
It's we can no longer be silent.
Thank you.
Next.
Next we are is more.
Hold you.
Say it.
Is it.
Say it.
Sir.
Please.
Please, sir.
Is our.
Hold.
Deave.
I'm probably screwing up your name.
Esther.
Sorry, I scribbled my name.
My name is Esmerhodzik.
And I am a member of Ward 2 within the city of Rochester.
And the big thing.
The big overarching thing with what everybody wants to say is whether or not you realize it now.
This might be the easiest political decision any of you will ever have to make in your career.
The.
The noise is.
Defending.
Across the entire city across the entire state.
Just speaking from my background.
I come from a Bosnia American household.
I was the first person in my family.
That was born here in America.
My older siblings and my parents.
Lived.
Indescribable things.
At least that's when I thought.
My father.
He knows what it's like to have.
Somebody knock on your knock on your door.
And suddenly you're in a camp far away for three months.
And I don't want to see that happen to anybody.
I know ever again.
My parents didn't endure that for me to see what's going on right now.
It is completely and utterly unfair.
And whether or not this may seem like a difficult decision for any of you to make right now.
A year from now five years from now ten years from now.
It's going the conversation is going to be overwhelmingly against everything that's happening.
It already is I have been canvassing businesses with many other people.
In this room over the past two weeks.
And the response has been overwhelmingly anti-ice.
And this is business owners we're talking about.
And the regular people we spoke into it's been about the same.
We.
Me and the organization with Isaiah are explicitly demanding that you all of you make a public stance against.
ISIS presence in Rochester and in Minnesota and to shut down all but essential operations on Friday January 23rd.
Thank you.
Next we have Houston Lincoln.
Houston Lincoln.
Hello.
My name is Kirsten Lincoln.
I'm a resident of Ward 2 and I'm here and people have already talked about the fear at schools.
And I can say as my kids were raised in the Rochester school system.
And I drive by fall well and I see parents out there patrolling.
I think well what else could this city do to help the schools feel safe?
That's kind of a no brainer if there's something that could be done.
I also am here because for the past ten years I've been involved in a food mission that goes out to Southeast Marion Road.
And I have to say that it is the worst thing ever to know that there are people who need food and they are not coming.
They're not coming and channel one has reported what's where partners with channel one that they are people are not coming so we have you heard about health people are not coming for their health people are not coming to school people are not eating.
So I would like to just double down on the things that have been asked of you to take some kind of stand if you can help with the January what is this Friday.
January the Friday thing that would be awesome if there's anything you guys can do to help the schools please if there's anything that the police force can do to help our citizens feel safe please please do it now.
Thank you very much for your time.
Next next we have Roochie Gupta.
Roochie Gupta.
Good evening madam mayor.
My name is Roochie Gupta a brief background about me.
I immigrated from India in 1993 and after moving around a little bit and in the process securing a green card.
I moved to Rochester in 2002 and became a naturalized citizen of America in 2007.
While in Rochester I raised two children and today my daughter is an environmental lawyer and my son is a second year neurology resident at Mayo Clinic.
I work at Mayo Clinic as a statistical programmer and I'm also proud to serve my community as chair of planning and zoning commission.
I'm here today because on afternoon of Friday January 9 I was headed downtown for an appointment when an unmarked SUV started tailing me from a distance.
I suspiciously kept an eye on it and stopped at a red light.
It put up right behind me where I could see the driver in my right in my surgery room mirror.
Sure enough after a few moments he picked up his walkie lucky like so I saw him like this and he spoke into it which is what confirmed my suspicions.
I was being watched and I was afraid to park and get out.
I caught my partner at home and I alerted him.
I asked him to text me a picture of my passport which he did.
He stayed with me on the phone and when the light changed I turned left but the ice agent did not.
I felt relieved but still was rattled and drove around a bit to make sure that there were no others.
Finally I went to my appointment but upon return scanned the area thoroughly before I approached my car.
I now check everywhere before I leave the house or even before I let my dogs out.
I feel fear in my own community and I see it reflected when I go out to restaurants that have started locking their doors.
Rochester by its character is a safe healthy and an international city and I implore to our leadership to get ice out of here.
Thank you.
Next we have Maui Dennis.
All right. Thank you for your time.
So you have a packed agenda tonight.
I don't see anything about ice or any of this on the agenda.
Please put it on there.
My name is Maui Dennis.
I'm a former elected official.
I sat right there on the sea council a year ago.
I want to say that it is your job as elected officials who represent the citizens of our city.
We have a huge amount here who are vocalizing.
Let's scrap what the executive branch.
Let's focus on what the legislative branch wants to do and make this a priority.
We need people who people are scared.
You look at Brooklyn Park who their police chief has made a public stance because their
off service officers have been pulled over by ice.
We need tangible things done here on city council.
Not platitudes, right?
We need things.
Not just statements, right?
Or fear mongering.
We need city council to take action, make city policies.
I know from a former elected official that we you hold the purse strings of the police department.
The purse strings of the entire city, right?
You need to make sure that you allocate funds for training.
Path legislation to make sure that this is a sanctuary city.
Other laws that have been mentioned.
I echo everything that has been mentioned today.
This is an urgent time in our society beyond a correct side of history.
There are two pastors.
You know that two pastors right here on the council, right?
You know that thoughts and prayers work in churches, but it doesn't work here.
We need to make sure that legislators do their jobs and represent the people.
Please, please take action.
You know, the rhetoric.
But constitutional rights are not suggestions.
And that is really important that we uphold that on a local level.
You have a lot of citizens here.
A huge pack crowd.
Listen to them.
You should also do your work.
But also prioritize your job as a representational democracy.
Thank you, Miss Dennis.
Thank you.
Thank you all.
That is everyone who's signed up.
I just wanted to also mention that we will take the role.
And then we will have some of our city leaders in administrative zones city attorney.
Spend her Craig the mayor and the police chief speak to.
The issue that was dominating our public.
A common period.
So with that, clerk Caso, could you please call the role?
Good evening.
Councilmember Keene.
Here.
Councilmember Miller.
Here.
Councilmember Wall.
Here.
Councilmember Frederick.
Here.
Councilmember Palmer.
Here.
Councilmember Doring.
Here.
Council President Schubert.
Here.
Mayor Norton.
Present.
And with that, city administrator's.
Thank you.
Council President.
Council members.
Mayor Norton members of the public.
As the person entrusted to guide day-to-day city.
Operations.
I typically begin.
Each city administrator's report by thanking our teammates for their work.
And for showing up every day.
With respect integrity, service, and excellence for our community.
And typically, we do not address open comment.
But these are not typical times.
We've heard clearly from community members, and in recent weeks, the city's community vision begins with a simple, but powerful statement. Rochester is a city that cares. A city where all people are treated with dignity and respect. It is important to say this plainly. That is not what all members of our community are experiencing or feeling right now.
We know that some residents are anxious, afraid, and uncertain about the present and the future. Some feel hesitant to speak or seek help or unsure about where to turn.
It matters that we name the reality and that we respond to it with care. I'm grateful to our elected leaders for their recognition of that need.
Rochester has long been a community where people look out for one another, helping a neighbor, supporting local businesses, welcoming those who arrive here during some of the hardest moments of their lives and embracing those calling Rochester home for the first time.
That spirit of care is part of who we are. The city of Rochester organization remains committed to serving all members of our community, especially in times of uncertainty, our roles to be steady.
Reliable, a reliable and steady presence. That means continuing to provide essential services, clear information, and support rooted in dignity, respect, and compassion.
This moment affects all of us, and it's also important to acknowledge that some members of our community are more deeply impacted.
Centering their needs is not separate from our mission. It is fundamental to it. How we share information and how we show up may feel different than normal because this is not a normal moment.
Being a city that cares means recognizing when our values are not being felt by everyone.
Our community vision is not aspirational for us. It is our responsibility and we as the organization serving the community take it seriously every day.
Through study service, clear communication, and compassion, and how we serve.
We will continue to show up for our community of that you can be sure.
In moments when not everyone feel supported or secure our work is to create stability, where we can, and to ensure our actions reflect the dignity and respect every person deserves.
As a local government, our responsibility is to remain steady and focused on the people we serve.
We will continue to meet this moment with care, provide clear and reliable services, and respond thoughtfully as circumstances of all.
These are the expectations that have been shared with our team and what you can expect from city provided services.
And I believe Mr. Sunnar Craig has some additional information he would like to share.
Thank you City Administrator Zelms, Council President Schubering, Council members Mayor Norton, members of the public. Thank you for being here this evening.
As the Rochester City Attorney, I'm certainly not in a position to address all of your questions or concerns, but I want to speak to a few.
I and we have heard from many of you over these past few weeks and before that certainly as well.
Thank you for sharing your experiences, your perspective, your life and family stories, your pain, your fears, your humanity.
I would like to share a few points from my office and from my perspective as the Rochester City Attorney.
Along with the Olmsted County Attorney's Office, the Rochester City Attorney's Office has a dedicated and busy team handling many criminal matters that occur within the city jurisdiction.
These include domestic assaults, protection order violations, property crimes, DUIs, traffic, and many other common day crimes that reflect real life public safety dynamics of our community.
As has always been true, we continue to be committed to serving victims of crime, regardless of immigration status.
It is vital to our work, vital to community safety, the community members trust local law enforcement enough to call when they are in need.
We will continue to do everything we can to ensure that victims of crime feel safe coming forward to seek protection, pursue justice and access the criminal justice system.
We do not ask victims or witnesses about immigration status, but we are mindful of the concerns and fears faced by vulnerable immigrant communities.
Many in my office and I do this work because we believe deeply in the rule of law and in the integrity of our justice system despite its flaws.
The rule of law, as we've heard tonight, is fundamental to a functioning society.
We cannot normalize racial profiling or systemic violations of civil liberties or the dehumanizing rhetoric that has become far too common.
The city has built out a resource page that includes various resource links, immigration legal resources FAQs and also a link to an incident form through the Attorney General's Office.
Please, if you are aware of an incident of concern, document it through that process, if you are comfortable doing so.
My office will continue to work closely with the Rochester Police Department, the Police Policy Oversight Commission with Victim Services and with other community agencies.
We will do our part to uphold the rule of law and to bring as much safety and security to the community as we can.
In the process, we will always strive to treat everyone with dignity and respect.
That is, of course, what the community deserves.
Back to you, Mr. President.
Thank you, Mr. Spindler Craig. Mayor Norton.
Thank you very much. And I didn't write a speech out. I'm just going to just speak from my mind and my heart.
Many of you know that back on January 8th, I made a post and interviewed publicly about the concerns that I knew the community was facing even back on January 8th.
Since that time of things have become more tense, certainly in Minneapolis and St. Paul, but also down here.
I have caused to my office from people saying, I'm afraid to come to your community for healthcare.
That was shared by a couple of individuals here today.
I have people calling to say, I'm afraid to leave my house. I'm afraid to go to my car.
I'm afraid to go by food and I'm afraid to take care of myself and my children.
I know children are staying home from school.
The things we heard today from the wonderful public that came to speak are the things we've been hearing about in the office.
And it is what caused me to again go out and make a second statement.
I'm not going to read it to you, but I made that second statement because I want you to know that we're hearing.
We recognize what's happening.
We acknowledge not just hearing, but we're acknowledging that we see what's happening.
And frankly, we're sorry about what's happening in this country and in our city.
These are frightening times, frightening for people in this room, frightening for our friends and neighbors, frightening frankly politically.
Because, you know, I think I used the word uncharted waters.
This is not happened in my lifetime that we are facing the kind of actions that we're facing in our community and it's frightening.
We're all frightened, some of us more than others, understandably.
But I wanted to not only acknowledge that, but I also wanted to say there are people out there who from the bottom of their hearts want to help.
They want to find solutions. Many of them spoke here and there are many, many, many more out in our community who want to help.
And they want to help in ways that don't hurt the cause that don't hurt the individuals they're trying to support.
And there's real fear out there that they don't know what to do, but they desperately want to do something.
I also wanted to let the community know that.
We have a caring, compassionate, loving community.
Yes, they're individuals who don't feel the way that we all are feeling in the room tonight.
They don't even experience in their own lives or see experienced in their communities.
What you've described here tonight.
And it's our job to let you know that we hear you and we see you and we will do what we can.
Within the limits that we have, unfortunately, if you remember in the comments that I made earlier this week,
I did say I have made the call myself to federal officials asking them to help us remove ice from our community.
We didn't ask for ice to be here.
We don't need ice to be here.
We have a law enforcement trained properly trained law enforcement group in this community who is here to care for the community and that's their job.
We didn't ask for nor do we need any extra help.
And I say that in quotes.
A couple things I do want to say that I heard from some of this speaker tonight.
I want to be perfectly clear about this and I'm going to ask our police chief to address it when I'm done.
The Rochester Police Department is not helping ice in any way.
The Rochester Police Department is not notified by ice when they're in town.
They are on their own working for a different boss doing their own thing.
I want to be perfectly clear about that.
In Rochester, the police department is not giving license information or they're not giving any information to ice.
And so that may be happening in other communities.
It is not happening in our community.
And when I hear that said, time and again, it really undermines the work that our police department has been doing since I've been mayor to do community policing and build community trust and make sure our communities.
Whether it be Somalia or Sudanese or Hispanic or any immigrant population.
Any of our many wonderful immigrant populations we have here.
They need to be able to call the police when they need help.
And when we use that kind of language that you can't trust our police department.
People then are afraid to call when they need help.
They have to know that our police department is not ice.
It's not border control and it's not doing any of that nor helping.
But I'll conclude in just a moment that.
With the chief like to say a couple words.
Yeah, I know he's sitting over here now and maybe he'd like to help the community understand what you do and don't do.
Yeah, thank you mayor.
Thank you council president.
Thank you for this opportunity to speak.
Over the past several weeks.
I've spent a considerable amount of time trying to navigate the uncharted waters that we find ourselves in.
And reflecting on how I can best lead the city as police chief with the weighted responsibility of ensuring public safety for all of our members in this community.
The essential question that I continually ask myself is, what is this community need to hear from its police department.
Quite frankly, that's been a very difficult question to answer.
In moments like this where there is no playbook to follow, there is no crystal ball that predicts the future.
I believe it comes down to these two things.
Similar to what the mayor touched on.
It's acknowledging the community and providing reassurance.
So first let me address the acknowledgement.
The acknowledgement of the fears, perceptions, concerns.
I have heard from Rochester residents, community leaders, elected officials that there is in fact an underlying current of fear, particularly surrounding on how immigration enforcement is being conducted.
I've heard from local businesses in schools that this is having an impact on behavior and attendance.
It's important to acknowledge that and it hasn't fact had a negative impact in this community.
Second is the reinsurance.
Reassurance of what I can actually control.
My commitment to you and my reinsurance is too fold.
First, how the Rochester Police Department is going to conduct business.
And we are going to remain unwavering in our commitment to providing the highest level of public safety to everyone in this community.
As a reminder, and to address some in Mayor Noron's concerns,
we don't have authority to enforce civil immigration law.
Nor do we have authority to prevent ice from enforcing laws in our community.
We have no database on immigrants within this community.
We're not collecting data.
We're not asking for data.
And nor are we, or has ice asked to see CCTV cameras, or whatever else was said, drone footage, etc.
That is the farthest thing from the truth.
It's not true, and it's not occurring.
It's no secret that law enforcement in Minnesota has faced significant adversity and unprecedented challenges over the past several years.
In response to that, this police department, your police department, the Rochester Police Department,
has been very proactive in delivering and building trust in strengthening relationships and policing this community in a way that reflects our shared social contract.
And the expectations of the people that we serve, fear exists within our community. And when
that exists, it has the potential to erode the communication and collaboration that is actually
essential for public safety. And that's why I want to clearly reassert that our priority, the
Rochester Police Department of Priority, is and how it has been the protection of public
safety for this community and the preservation of order within our community. I also want to
reaffirm that Rochester PD has operated for several years under a very clear constitutionally
grounded immigration related policy. This policy was developed in partnership with public
input in the community members. And in fact, even included, an immigration attorney is part of
that. It guides our daily practice, decision-making, community engagement and full compliance with
state and federal laws while protecting civil liberties, upholding the constitution and maintaining
that public trust. You can find that policy online. Yes, our policy explicitly states that we do not
engage in immigration enforcement. We do, in fact, defer that to the federal agencies. Finally,
we're going to remain steadfast in our commitment to public safety to this community. We will continue
to meet with community groups. We are going to continue to answer questions. We are going to continue
to address concerns. And as always, if you need law enforcement assistance, please do call 911
you're never bothering us. Thanks. Thank you. And so I'm just going to close my remarks because
I do have a couple other normal announcements that I need to make this evening. And I apologize for
taking so much time. But I want to thank the community for coming. I want you to know that we care.
I hate to say we because I don't really feel like I can speak for the council here.
But I do know that we have all heard you this evening. And we will do everything in our power to
support you as we move ahead in times that I hope are not going to be ongoing. I hope we can
ask to be allowed to run our caring, compassionate community the way we have in the past
without ice and with our law enforcement protecting every single one of us that lives here.
So I do have a couple other announcements. I know a lot of folks are here for
this topic, which we are wrapping up at this point, there may be. Can I just add one thing before
you go to before you go to? Before you go to your usual mayor's reports. So the council will have an
opportunity to discuss this during our other business, which is at the end of our agenda. But with that,
I will turn it back to you, Mayor. Thank you. Just a couple things. The first one is I do have a
proclamation to read. This is kind of the normal stuff that we usually do every year and this is our
first proclamation in January and it reads as follows. Whereas certified registered nurse anesthetists
provide high quality, cost effective, anesthesia care, safely administering more than 50 million
anesthetics to patients each year in the United States. And whereas CRNAs have been an essential
part of the American health care system for more than 150 years, ensuring patient safety and comfort,
and access to anesthesia services. And whereas CRNAs were the first specialists to provide
anesthesia care in the United States tracing their roots to nurse Alice Maga, the mother of anesthesia,
who practiced at Minnesota's Mayo Clinic and helped establish excellence in the field. And
whereas CRNAs are the primary providers of anesthesia care and greater Minnesota and rural communities
nationwide supporting access to obstacles. Dr. Cole, sorry, surgical trauma, stabilization,
and pain management services in medically underserved areas. And whereas CRNAs serve as
innovative leaders and anesthesia care collaborating with a wide range of health care providers
and practices and hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, military settings, and veterans of
fair health care facilities. And whereas Minnesota continues to lead in nurse anesthesia education
and practice with approximately 2,000 CRNAs authorized to deliver anesthesia services to patients
across the state, strengthening Minnesota's health care system. Now, therefore, be it resolved that
I, Kim Norton, mayor of the city of Rochester, do hereby proclaim January 18 through 24th, 2026,
as certified registered nurse anesthesiase week in the city. In witnessware of, I have here in two
set my hand and cause the corporate seal of the city of Rochester to be effects this 21st day
of January 2026. And I do believe Robin Finney is here to, as Robin here, there, to accept the
proclamation.
Just a couple other quick announcements just a reminder that January 27th, 2026 is International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
We recognize that each year.
There is also an informational meeting about the sister city's trip to Germany that will be held at 125 live on Saturday at 11am January 24th.
If anyone is interested in learning a little bit more about our sister city, both of Mooseburg and Munster and the cities will be seeing in between.
You're welcome to a swing by 125 live at 11am.
And Mr. Chair, that's all I have for today.
Thank you, Mayor.
And thank you, police chief, Franklin and city attorney.
It's been with Craig and administrative zones.
And as I mentioned, the council will have an opportunity if need be to discuss this issue later.
So thank you all for being here.
And as the mayor said, you are heard.
With that, I will move on to the order of the agenda.
Are there any changes to the agenda?
Seeing none, is there a motion to approve the agenda?
So moved.
Move by council member keen.
Seconded by council member Fredericks, all in favor say aye.
Aye.
Opposed say nay motion passes.
Moving on to the consent agenda.
Council members, wall, Miller and myself are pulling item.
F 10 is there anything else?
If not, I'd invite a motion to approve and block items F 1 through F 9 and item F 11.
So moved.
It's a move by council member Doring.
Seconded by council member Miller.
All in favor say aye.
Aye.
Opposed say nay motion passes.
We have two public hearings on our agenda this evening.
And just before we move into our public hearings,
a little clarification on public hearings.
Staff will introduce or present the item.
And then if there is an applicant or an applicant representative,
they will have opportunity to make a presentation for up to 10 minutes.
And then I will open the public hearing.
Public hearing members of the public have five minutes each,
but you are encouraged to keep comments brief, concise,
and building on not repeating previous comments.
Public can be can only join us in person.
Then I will close the public hearing and if there's an applicant,
they will have up to five minutes for a buttole.
And at that point, I will invite my colleagues to ask clarifying questions of the applicant and staff.
And at that point there, a more motion would be in order.
So with that, I will move to our first public hearing,
which is item G1 is a conditional use permit by UCI Tower.
And this will be presented by Mr. Desmond McGill.
Thank you, Council President Schubering.
Mayor Norton members of the council.
Good evening.
My name is Desmond McGill.
I'm with the Community Development Department.
I'll be bringing you this application.
This is a conditional use permit for a wireless communication facility.
Tower, which will consist of 105 foot monopole and accessory equipment for the tower.
The subject site is located at 1807.
Marion Rhodes, out these.
In a R3, I'm sorry, in a R2 low density residential zone district.
The proposed facility will accommodate a Verizon wireless monopole facility in tennis.
And we'll allow for future telecommunication facilities to be located,
co-located on the tower as well.
The wireless communication facility is a permitted use within the zoning district.
However, such facilities are limited in height to 65 feet in residential zoning districts.
Subject to a conditional use permit facilities can be granted an additional 50 feet in height.
If the applicant can demonstrate that functional coverage cannot provide thorough co-location.
Be at a lower height.
And also, if it's in a zoning district such as this, cannot be provided in an alternative zone district such as commercial industrial mixed use or agriculture.
The targeted service area of this facility cannot be located on an existing tower or water tower any kind of existing structure within the area.
Commercial and industrial land uses are limited in area in this general portion of the city.
The 105 foot monopole will adequately address the target service area.
And that anything less than the 105 feet will have would require at least one additional tower and perhaps multiple towers, which would be counter to our objectives for minimizing cell tower locations in minimizing their visual appearance.
The applicant has produced maps showing the service coverage of a 65 105 in 150 foot high tower in this general facility area.
And based on the coverage maps and the engineering RFF at David provided by the applicant community development supports the grant of the 105 foot high tower.
To meet the public interest objectives.
The planning commission has unanimously recommended seven zero that the city council approve the subject application.
I do have a couple of clarifications wanted to note that monopole is 105 feet but the there is a lightning rod that is on the top of it that extends another four feet so the total height of the structure would be 190.
So that the staff report notes that a 65 foot tall facility would require two tower facility locations.
It should read multiple tower locations rather than two and then also there is a sentence or two in on page two that is italicized suggesting that the RF engineer response.
This is suggesting that it's an RF engineering response which which is not that is just language taken from the UDC that was italicized so that is of the UDC not not the applicant so I think that concludes my presentation my introduction on this and I'd be happy to answer any questions that you may have.
Is there a representative of of the applicant here.
If you it's step forward identify yourself and you have up to 10 minutes but you don't have to use it all.
I'm Matthew Coonerty represent UCI tower and Verizon on this wireless project.
The staff presentation was was well done and and I think comprehensive but if you have additional questions I'd be happy to answer anything you might want to ask about.
Okay, well have you sit down and invite you back after the public hearing.
At this point I will open the public hearing and ask if anyone wishes to be heard on this item does anyone wish to be heard on this item does anyone wish to be heard on this item.
Does anyone wish to be heard on this item see no one I will close the public hearing and if you'd like to come back and say closing comment.
It's been quite a long project and the same presentation I think has been given quite a few times but if you do have any questions I'd be happy to answer.
It's a it's a needed project it's been worked on for a long long time.
Good.
Council members questions for the applicant or staff.
So member keen. Thank you. Yeah, I went to the neighborhood information meeting. I thought was well presented, but I just wanted to clarify.
Desmond, you made some qualifying statements that there's some changes on the resolution compared to what we have, or what was the clarification?
The clarification is actually in the staff report. Okay. All right. Thank you. That's helpful.
Any other questions? You can sit down. Okay. Thank you. Is there a motion on this item?
I'll move adapting a resolution approving conditional use permit number CD 2025 010CUP by UCI power for the construction of a wireless communication facility consisting of 105 foot monopole tower and ancillary equipment located in the R2, which is low density residential small lot zoning district.
Second.
Move by council member keen and seconded by council member Fredericks anymore.
Yeah. Thank you. Council member. Any further discussion? Seeing none all in favor say aye. I oppose say nay motion passes. Thank you. Thank you for coming.
Next up, we have item G2, which is a final plat by the city and Mr. McGill.
Thank you. Thank you. This is an application for a final plat by the city of Rochester.
This final plat is known as the sports regional sports and recreational complex. This will be for the subdivision of 158 acres located in an R3 and MXG zoning district.
The site is located north of 48th street southeast and south of 40th street southeast and east of the east terminus of orchid road.
This plat encompasses one lot and four outlots in the dedication of right away for 45th street southeast subject request is a quasi judicial and nature subject to the approval criteria of the major land subdivision of the UDC.
Authorization will permit the splitting of the land in separate parcels for future sales and dispossession of the land as needed.
And the development review committee is recommending approval of the subject applications so that concludes my introduction had to be happy to answer any questions.
At this point, I'll open the public hearing. Is there anyone wishing to be heard on this item?
Please step forward. Anyone wishing to be heard on this item? Please step forward.
Anyone wishing to be heard on this item? Please step forward at this point. I will close the public hearing and invite council members.
Any questions?
Or motion council member.
Make a motion to prove final plat number cd2025-043 pla t by city adopting a resolution improving final plat number cd2025-043 pla t by the city to be known as regional sports recreation complex of three conditions for the subdivision of 158.21 acres of land into one lot and four outlots.
Motion made by council member Fredericks is there second. Seconded by council member keen council member Fredericks any more to add.
Council member key.
Further discussion. Seeing none on favor say aye.
Aye.
Opposed say nay.
Motion passes six one with council member during voting nay.
Moving on to reports and recommendations. We have a site development agreement with Mayo Clinic for the west logistic center and the Osmond Waterman clinical building.
And this item was pulled by council members wall, Miller and myself and council member wall. Maybe you can kick us off on this one.
Thank you.
I need to pull up my notes.
Primarily I pulled this because it is such a huge project in the city of Rochester and I think that by drawing attention to it at this meeting.
We signal to the residents and even to our own council, the magnitude of what we are doing with this particular F 10.
I have other questions, but that's primarily why I pulled council member Miller any more to add.
Sure.
Similar to council member wall, I think there is value and open discussion on this item, particularly having the ability to put on the record some of the clarifications that have been provided to us this week.
And also clarify how this process moves forward from transparency and understanding where the public get to engage with Mayo and the public realm and where we do as well and how we receive updates moving forward.
So I think it's a major project and we're in uncharted territory and this as well and I think more information is good.
Thank you and for myself, I agree with both my colleagues.
I think really understanding where members of the public can continue to engage on this project as it moves forward a couple more specific issues.
And I think I'm going to turn to either Ms. Stainhauser on this a couple of specific issues is clarifying Mayo clinics commitment to this council to feature.
The Arctic facts that were removed from the former Lord's high school in the park design, clarifying the park dimensions and that it extends to the right of way on the west side.
And then also the potential costs of bearing overhead power lines and efforts to encourage a joint funding of this between our major employer DMC the city.
And so some specific questions there, so Ms. Stainhauser if you can give us a little briefing on this.
Sure, thank you council President Schubering and members of the city council happy to try and respond to those.
I will also say that community health and director Irene Woodward is here as well as our peer director Tim McCollah who are also available to answer the questions and we do have online outside legal counsel Rachel tyranny who helped with the drafting of these agreements as well as prior agreements.
So specifically to your questions related to the use of artifacts that is from the historic lords sites that has come up a number of times we have confirmed on a number of occasions and including most recently.
This week with the male representatives that they will absolutely incorporate artifacts from the former Lord historic lords high school into the park and in their words incorporate them in a way that meaningfully honors the history of the site.
So that is very much a commitment on the part of Mayo to do that I think at the time when the demolition of the site was before this council they had also indicated at that time and that commitment continues.
In terms of the park design the park is not fully designed I think in conversations with mayor representatives they recognize that this is a really important asset not only to the community but to the neighborhood in particular and so they want to make sure that the neighbor neighbors and the community have specific input on how lords high school is honored on this site and.
And the desires of the community are incorporated into the design of the site I do not have specifics on a schedule for additional neighborhood meetings we have representatives from both city and Mayo and DMC that attend.
The cut ski park monthly neighborhood meeting that's an opportunity to get input but I anticipate based on my conversations with Mayo that they will conduct additional neighborhood meetings for and community engagement around.
This site and as that information becomes available we'll happy to be happy to communicate it to this council and to others.
In terms of the park size it is what we would refer to in planning terms more of a linear park contractually they were required to have a 30 foot dimension with from the building to the curb line.
That the actual dimension is 43 feet and then it runs the length of the block north south so that is the size of the green space the linear park that we're talking about.
In terms of the conversation on overhead line and the burning of overhead lines that of course was brought up by this council during on discussion when you.
Approved the DMC CIP budget last October since that time there's been a lot of discussion internally from city teammates and a lot of work done and research done by Tim McCullough in terms of.
Understanding the landscape that we're looking at when it comes to not only bearing overhead wires on 7th Avenue but the ask was beyond it was for cut ski park but as it relates specifically to 7th Avenue.
I'll defer to Tim in terms of providing information on those costs I will say that it is not a budgeted item it was not an item that we had in putting together the 38 million dollars of unbound funding for.
The 30 square block of improvements did not come to plate an allocation for the bearing of underground wires that said there is in that 38 million dollar that was approved by DMC and approved by this body.
A million dollar allocation for public room improvements for cut ski park and how those dollars are to be spent is a conversation that we will have with the neighborhood.
So with that maybe I'll pause and let Tim speak to the cost of the burying of the underground.
Very good good evening council president she brewing council mayor happy to be here tonight to help provide some context here as.
And this diners are said we have done some preliminary budgetary type estimates on what undergrounding efforts would look like in the broad impact area around.
The 38 million that we've discussed previously the 7th Avenue Northwest corridor specifically is one of the more challenging corridors because it's a heavy three phase line there so it's one of our bigger lines the total corridor from.
We did this in sections not specifically focused on block by block but from about first street southwest all the way up to almost civics enter drive if it would connect.
Is about a two million dollar effort to underground that entire line now obviously this discussion is about a smaller piece than that.
But is it a piece right in the middle of that which becomes challenging to go under and back up around so I will give a very vague and non-committal high level answer of somewhere in the realm of one to two million dollars of undergrounding probably in this vicinity and that is just represented that is not only representative of the cost to the electric utility which we don't have a funding source for there's also some private investment.
That would be required here for service laterals that connect to homes or businesses depending on the extents of the the undergrounding there we've had very successful undergrounding successful projects north broadways a great example of that lot of lines with all underground and partnership.
So with the right funding sources with the right partnership with the right communication with the communications companies it could be a successful outcome here.
I will reiterate from the RPU perspective we typically invest a couple hundred thousand dollars a year in undergrounding but in this immediate forward period those investments were focused on.
Another project the 18th Avenue project so we did not identify any dollars for undergrounding in the downtown corridor area in the budget planning so there's not currently a utility source for any undergrounding for aesthetic or other reasons here we would typically look for those funds to come from developer partner others depending on who's asking for who's contributing to the project there.
Unless there's any questions I believe I've answered the portion of the council number one.
Thank you, Ms. Steinhouser, I want to go back to the lured part of the project.
Months ago male representatives and city leaders made a commitment to the council that there would be this linear park with artifacts.
I think there's some narrative in the public that there is some withdrawal of that commitment by male representatives.
I have been assured both in writing and now orally by you that instead of reducing their commitment the the park seems to have grown and that they are equally committed to using artifacts would that be true.
And that was one of the reasons I wanted to pull this is to get that under the record like I think Mr. Miller suggested that.
The council remains committed to that from months ago to today.
Another question and I think that you addressed that that Mayo is committed to further meetings with the public that.
They haven't had their last opportunity to weigh in on either the logistics building or Osmond Waterman building.
Yes that is correct.
That's great. The one thing that I think is important for the council is to recognize I believe if I have understood it correctly that if we were to approve F10 as it is currently written that this is not likely to come back to our council for any kind of meaningful action.
I have a have I read that correctly. Yes this is would be the last.
For the action that you would take related to this item, it's an agreement, normally, site development plans do not come back to city council, but as we indicated in the communication to you, because they don't have all of the site development, the landscaping in particular is the biggest piece that's not yet complete.
We wanted to have something on the record, something official, something enforceable to make sure that not only do the designs get complete, but that they actually build what is shown in the designs that city staff would review at the staff level.
Thank you, and I think there's at least one council member up here who would say mail has always gone over and above what they have been asked to do in the community, and so with the oversight by city staff, we're really quite assured that we're going to get just a number one project, even if it doesn't come back to the council.
I would agree with that assessment, thank you, council, my remiller.
Sure, just a few questions and while I appreciate Mr. Wall's optimism, I think I would anchor myself in the oversight of this project and set that as.
I'm hoping that the city staff in knowing that city staff will hold Mayo Clinic or any developer to our standards and not assume that just because they're the largest employer in town and the majority stakeholder of downtown.
That they will just deliver something that meets the community needs, so just want to be on the record, too, that I will agree very much.
We'll not give away my expectation and I'm grateful for the UDC and the process that led to that, but my question, I guess I would start.
Mr. Stein has or you've enumerated some of the conditions related to both of these sites.
Could you go through the conditions related to the Osmond Waterman building and give us a status update of where the site development plan as well as.
Other work brings us on those, there's the pedestrian access through the Osmond Waterman building.
The downtown active transportation network, could you enumerate those and just share where we stand.
Sure, and then I will also lean into my colleague.
Miss Woodward from the community development.
So in terms of the pedestrian access through the building, that was what that was a condition of a street vacation and so.
And you approved as part of that condition.
The access I don't remember all the exact hours of it's every day and it's generally a hours the hours are early morning well into late at night.
I believe it's 10 or 10 30 at night.
So so that access is a public access through the building at to replace the access that was eliminated with the street vacations of third and fourth avenue.
In terms of the conditions yet to be approved.
Miss Woodward took point on negotiating and and vetting the site development plan that has been submitted by the mail team and reviewing what was incomplete in that plan and identified and developed that list of conditions that we will enforce through this agreement.
Maybe I'll just pause and let Miss Woodward speak to that.
Thank you.
So for the access it also says approved in concept in the agreement.
So just to note what that kind of means is they mail has showed us numerous ways that they're creating that concept.
And in general, we are an agreement of making sure that pedestrian flow and we've maintained it in the agreement until gets to full construction documents and building permits to make sure that those continue.
And this was a method for us to be able to make sure that that continues knowing it's a priority.
So could you clarify the exhibit because there were yellow arrows and indicating staff entrances and red arrows indicating public entrance or access.
And I was set an email from mail communications saying that unfortunately the graphic attached was incorrect.
I thought we'd corrected that mail in the council record before submission. Could you clarify what the current proposal.
And whether or not the the exhibit included in our packet is the most recent version.
We there was some change to the exhibit it is correct online currently and it is a public access and it is showing that in the exhibits.
So another question related to the west logistic center and the linear park.
Obviously that is still in a process of engagement may have had a meeting last week with the neighborhood.
I will just reiterate that a priority that was overwhelmingly clear and several of us attended that meeting was under grounding the power lines particularly for over story tree possibilities for that park.
And so I guess I just want to put that on the record of it was abundantly clear to me that that was the first priority.
Even more so than artifacts is that the quality of that park is contingent on overhead power lines are under grounded.
And I do hope that we do find a way to move that forward because it feels like a.
So we talk about dig once this feels like a dig once a build the park once and allow the trees to grow overhead.
I guess another question that's come up in other presentation sources about the air quality alliance and it was indicated in that meeting that mail had declined to participate as a site for an air quality monitor in that park.
And I guess I don't necessarily have a question other than just it feels unfortunate that we're.
Out of step in monitoring air quality and I would hope that the city might think of ways near that access point to reassure the neighborhood and other downtown visitors that the quality is.
Is sufficiently monitored and reported as it relates to public health.
And my final question is is related to the public realm experience and what assurances might you give us that.
The features of the public realm are on these buildings will be more than bushes and benches.
So I will attempt to answer that and again if others want to respond so I think.
Part of not think I know what will drive the review is the unified development code has a robust set of design standards that they use that go beyond just.
Bushes and benches and then layered on top of that also embedded in that UDC is the city design guidelines for DMC district of which this is part of and so.
If anything to me that that is an elevated level of design that the planners that review the site development plan apply to the review and approval process.
Council member key.
Yeah, I just wanted to do two things one kind of already been covered one on the overhead power lines I mean I this is a big deal from the neighbors perspective I also think it's a better quality park if this were done but I want to reiterate when we talk about like we can talk about the.
The the project person doing it or sometimes this is done through our PU but there are other there are other buildings that would need to pay for their access things that would need to be worked out and I want to make sure the community understands that before we push for something that drives other costs that.
Other residents are going to have to pay for.
We think the staff made the good point here the what we're proving tonight isn't any sort of design or anything like this it's it's accessibility to keep moving right now.
But still hold these other site development plan requirements even though one of those site development plan requirements is you don't get any permits until you have it.
So we're doing these agreements now so we can keep up with this and I think this is a stated goal of this council to try to be responsive and stay stay keep keep these projects moving and not have them drag throughout out and start losing time so I appreciate the ability to try to put an agreement like this together.
One of the things we do with these sort of things says not coming back to council is we have to trust the work we did back in 2021 and 2022 to do the.
Unified development code because I trust that the staff will use that as their guiding document and that's really what what we're going forward with.
But I also wanted to make sure people know that along with not have any approvals there is a planned.
Study session to go over the ball forward plans and do you want to talk about that a little bit.
Sure we thank you council member can we periodically come before this body and provide an update on support and transformation and we're at with both forward and bound and related initiatives.
We have a request in for a study session in early March to become to you with an update.
And we could speak to this our focus for that update with will be to talk about the construction coordination work that's happening behind the scenes between.
Our across our departments our communication strategy for the next 12 to 18 months related to that as well as some additional.
Detail related to the research being done about the cost and implications of considering bearing underground wires so.
We periodically bring updates to you happy to bring an update specifically related to the park and incorporated into that presentation as well.
I think that would be good suggestion if you could do that thank you.
Agreed council member Palmer.
Thank you.
I've looked at the.
Pat performance of the male clinic in the artwork that they have and the trees that they have and the plants that they have I think are are phenomenal.
So I I won't for one will speak that that I'm very happy with what they do and and I'm surprised that people are don'ting that.
I have a couple questions and and I'm confusing on this first street Southwest Pacific center drive to bury the lines.
Why would we.
Why would the citizens of Rochester are the rate pairs of RPU want to pay for this.
Because the policy is that we don't and so I don't understand why.
You know, the people out in the breakers have to pay for this that just as boggles my mind.
Certainly we we would bring forward to what we're hearing in the community meetings and that would be a policy decision that this council would make whether not you wanted to allocate resources and pay for it as opposed to.
I'm putting it on right pair but.
Looks like you said these meetings you're talking about are the neighborhood meeting that's maybe 20 people and not reflective of the community and I don't think that if you said to the community.
I don't think anybody would agree to that.
I certainly think there's a lot more where I'm not advocating a position one way or the other.
I think there's a lot of and work still yet to be done to understand the financial implications as Mr. McCulland indicated that we have.
I've generally rushed estimate of bearing that a large line but understanding what the cost per household would be for the people that would have to replace the line the latter line from the main.
To their household and if there's any other implications if it's an older home that needs you brought up to code.
There's a lot to understand in terms of considering bearing underground wires and we haven't fully better that.
I just like to add I probably spoke broader than was necessary for this conversation and describing 7th Avenue to its full extent.
The planning work that we've done up to this point has been looking at the full broad impact area and trying to divide it up into segments that can further be subdivided.
So I apologize if I extend the conversation further than the extent of what the discussion point was tonight.
And the other question I have is is this.
I think you said eight million dollars for public realm is in this is coming from the DMC money is that correct.
That is correct of the $38 million that was approved.
It includes an allocation from 7th Avenue West in the Kutsky Park area the idea.
And the thought behind that allocation is how do we I think is some of put soft in the edges of the impact of a $5 billion investment that lives right next door to a neighborhood that has preserved a lot of its character.
And so how do you not have a negative impact to that neighborhood and so the thought was that those dollars would go towards an enhanced public realm that softens and.
The impact of what's happening with a $5 billion investment right next.
So then explain to me how do we use DMC money outside the DMC area.
The fair question is not all of the area is in the DMC district depending on how those dollars are being recommended being spent.
It could require a district a boundary amendment that would have to go to the DMCC board and then to the city council for consideration.
And the past the idea of moving the DMC boundary has been.
Lack of better way to save from the pond and greatly not wanting to do it in a point when my bug booth is the parking ramp at the rec center and that we will not change the boundary.
I'm not sure why we'd want to change the boundary and I know the last time we talked about this we're confusing because you're talking about bearing lines down center street or first street.
The cost of that would be horrendous and you would lose the trees and so who's making this decision that this $8 million is going to be spent.
Well no decisions haven't made the how it's being spent it's an allocation right and there's been as I said we've we've had some initial conversations with the neighborhood the cuts can never hold in particular.
I want to be sensitive to the fact that there is inevitably going to be an impact.
To that neighborhood whether it's traffic, whether it's, well, traffic being one thing in particular. So let's just take traffic as an example. So if there's what proves to be true is an intense amount of traffic that happens that necessitates improvement for pedestrian connections, improvements to the streetscape in some way shape or form, that there are dollars that are allocated to do those improvements.
Now whether those would be required, those improvements are in the DMC district or not and require a boundary modification is something that we've talked about with DMC staff and there are aware that it could require a boundary modification and we need to go through the appropriate process and bring the appropriate justification forward. But that's been the early conversation.
So the people in lower town are going to be affected by the downtown redevelopment and everything. So how do they get their eight million dollars?
That sounds like a rhetorical question council member. Well, it's not a type of question that it's fair to ask staff to answer at this point.
I want to clarify a little bit to council member Palmer's question. So those allocations for that eight million dollars.
Whether there's a request for boundary changes will go to come to this council and specific allocations of that eight million dollars will all come back to this council. So we will have an opportunity to discuss those as they come forward.
So you approved the funding. You already approved the $38 million.
We would bring forward if the eight million dollars for anything in Cutske Park went beyond the boundary modifications.
Current boundary modifications that would come before you as part of the justification for the boundary modification.
If it's an expense that is already in the DMC district, what would come to you would be the RFP for design services for planning services.
The RFP to go out for bid and to award the bid contract. So if it's in the boundary already, that's what we come to this council.
Thank you. Sorry, the interrupt council member just wanted a clarification.
So do you have several more questions or two? I'll have two. Okay.
Go ahead.
The area between 7th Avenue and 11th Avenue in 2nd Street Southwest to the river is approximately 450 parcels of that about 125 single family dwellings.
So if you expanded the boundary of the DMC area, would you then change the zoning to R3 and R4?
Because it's almost already a commercial area with that much rental don't you think?
I wouldn't want to guess on what the appropriate zoning would be. I would have to defer to either.
I mean, the zoning doesn't correlate to how you spend dollars in a public room dollars.
No, but it does moving the district, the DMC district.
The district boundary modification would be to enable dollars to be spent in the public room. That is not a zoning specific.
So my last question is the requirement for male clinic on this this linear park is 30 feet.
So so when your inspector goes out there and looks at it and measures 30 feet, is that what they're looking for?
I'm not sure that I understand the question completely.
I mean, what we know is that the in rotating the building and enabled the park to go beyond 30 feet and that male has clearly indicated that that will be the result is that it will be 43 feet based on rotating the building creates the opportunity for additional green space in that linear park.
So they've more than met the requirement. I don't know if any questions.
Can I add a little my understanding is that the male clinic has also said that they would maintain the right of way so that the park itself would go from building to curb and the paths or the sidewalk would land somewhere in that linear park is that kind of a correct interpretation of what they're planning and what you've
to with male clinic.
That's my understanding, but I'll just miss what we're to also come into that because I think she's seen more recent documents.
So yes, it does include up to the curb to the building that area is 43 feet currently and that's showing up on the existing site development plan is just not fully designed in terms of where the sidewalk is going to land in some of those other elements but the the distance and the width has been identified.
And male clinic has agreed to maintain that right of way that is correct and we will work with them on any of the other documentation needed as we continue to move forward.
Council member Miller.
Yeah, just one additional clarification on the conditions so related to improving the pedestrian and active transportation.
So could you give us an update on the sixth avenue design.
Like how perhaps truck traffic planning is is moving along as well.
And when we should expect updates for our or council action on those.
Sure, so.
Is part of the 38 million dollars there's a.
Planned improvements along sixth avenue, which will support multi modes right and the.
As you saw at prior study sessions and updates it includes a separated sector bike lane.
Learn to sidewalks we.
This council asks us to also take a look at.
Alternatives in addition to the ones we were studying which was first avenue six avenue taking a look at second avenue specifically through Annabird Plaza.
Most of that work is complete that analysis complete.
We went to P back week or so ago and it is scheduled to come back to you.
I think the degrees February 18th for an update.
And related to the truck traffic as well.
There was some discussion of the finalizing.
What the configuration would be box trucks semis et cetera.
Are there any updates worth noting since this is part of that site development plan.
Work I know the construction would be different than operations but I.
And are you excuse me council my remiller you referring specifically to the west legislator specifically related to the west legislator operations.
Yes.
So I might lean again into miss woodward specifically on the truck size.
I don't think there's any other updates on the number of trucks.
All of the traffic was reviewed as part of the traffic study and that was already reviewed and approved for this project.
Okay.
Council member Fredericks.
Thank you.
Are you tired of being in the hot seat yet?
It's fine.
All right, I'll make it all make it simple on you.
Who exact is asking for underground utility versus overhead?
Who's exactly asking for that or who's ideas it.
It has something it is something that's come from.
The Cutsky Park neighborhood meetings that we attend.
I don't know all the representatives.
And you know it's generally ten or twelve people up there on board to help pay for it.
There's not been a commitment from Cutsky Park neighborhood to pay for it.
All right.
And then.
Mr. McCullough.
Could you explain to us some of the benefits of underground versus overhead.
Cost of connections, tapings, abandonment.
You're going to have abandonments from time to time.
Explain to us some of the cost differences between underground and overhead.
I can certainly take a shot at it.
Council member Fredericks.
Generally speaking, the cost of underground construction is a factor of.
Five times more than overhead construction.
It often has a longer life cycle.
So you can reap some of the benefits of the higher investment over time.
You do gain some reliability by putting wires underground because.
trees ice squirrels don't tend to find the wires when they're buried in the ground.
So there's slight gains in reliability with a piece meal type.
Undergrounding whether still segments of overhead.
You really don't realize the full benefit until everything's underground.
Having come from a community in my former world where nearly everything was underground.
That's a different story than what we're telling about here.
You get incremental reliability benefits.
You save operational costs on a cycle of not having to trim trees.
You certainly get an aesthetic benefit of not having.
The wide trees like cut out of the middle when you have the conflict between overhead lines and trees as well.
There are some inherent benefits of we've I think encountered about a dozen pole versus car versus pole accidents.
So interfaces with traffic can be.
Improved when you put things underground, but those nice big green boxes that stick out of the ground still get hit by cars.
As well, so those are it's not a full hundred percent there.
Our view has a goal of trying to move forward and continue progress towards undergoing our system.
There's a board adopted policy.
We partner often to do so on that.
I will say that the cost of undergrounding is not always recovered in the savings.
In individual segments it can lead to some higher upfront capital costs and all the benefits that we're trying to quantify a vegetation management direct cost and reliability or hard to put dollars to to make it always pencil out.
So one of the reasons that we're very careful about designing our undergrounding projects so that they can best benefit the community and the entire rate base and anytime there's request for individual.
For aesthetic reasons or other reasons we typically seek to have funding sources come from those requesting the undergrounding as well.
Hopefully I answered your question on that if there's anything else I'd like you'd like me to touch on.
Yeah, one last thing.
So let's say hypothetically you move forward with this we move forward with this.
Who does pay the bill?
So I will jump in as Mr. McCall said it's not something that's currently funded in our post capital plan so it would have to.
We would have to look at what funding options are available and bring forward to you as an amendment to your budget because it's not currently in the budget.
And when I mentioned earlier we'd want to understand what the cost is to the individual homeowner or commercial property that has to pay for the cost then of this.
Do you pop the service line the secondary service secondary service line to their property?
Okay, I just asked that because I'm not into mandating you're going to do this you're going to pay for when they have operational operational lines in place and just saying hey you're going to do this we you know we decide you're going to do this.
I don't I'm not a board of that but so that's where I'm at.
Any further discussion on this is there a motion on this item.
Go ahead councilmember Palmer.
Authorization of site development agreement with mail clinic in Minnesota nonprofit organization for conditional site plan approval for the construction of the West Logistics Center and the Osmond Waterment Clinical building as part of bold forward unbound in Rochester.
Council motion made by councilmember Palmer seconded by councilmember Fredericks anymore to add councilmember.
I've done enough any further discussion seeing none.
All in favor say aye.
I oppose say nay motion passes.
Thank you moving on to our ordinance first readings Mr. Spindler Craig.
Thank you Mr. President item J one an ordinance rezoning approximately 2.04 acres of land located at the southwest corner of east center street and 6th Avenue southeast identified by.
This number zero to six five seven one through zero to six five seven six and zero to six five seven eight through zero to six five eight three and zero to six five eight five.
From R to X low density residential infill to R for high density residential and a many ordinance number four four seven eight known as the unified development code of the city of Rochester Minnesota.
Thank you. We have no table items other business councilmember Dory.
Yeah, I don't want to let the moment pass to discuss what was what was presented in our our public hearing this evening.
Since I says has been in our community. I have also been an outspoken critic of the tactics that ice has been using in the harm that has caused to our community.
I'm not going to read the multiple Facebook posts or social media posts or rehash any other public statement I've made at this point.
I am saddened that those who spoke to public comment decided to leave. So they will not hear the commitments I am willing to make this evening.
I am I remain committed to pushing our city administration are Rochester police department and all entities who have any legislative power to look for solutions or clarifications about how our community can be continue to be a safe place for everyone to live.
So I'm going to be a bug in their ear still. I am fully committed and have been fully committed to working on solution.
With in the law, to feed those who are going hungry, to alleviate fears that affected parts of our community have, to ensure that they feel safe, seeking the essential services that they need to live their best life in this community.
To this point, I have been involved in numerous food runs. I have been trained as a constitutional observer. I have stood vigil outside of masks so people can worship. Without fear, it is my commitment to the affected community and to the entire Rochester community that I will do everything in my power as an elected official.
To make sure that everyone feels safe, I will continue to lend my voice to ask ice to leave our community and I encourage all Rochester residents who are as concerned as I am, to serve their neighbors, to reach out and to do so in legal fashions.
And if we all engage in this type of behavior, Rochester can certainly be the place that I and those that you heard this evening want it to be.
Thanks.
Thank you council member. Anyone else want to be heard on this item or on other business? I'm sorry.
Go ahead council member. Wow. I appreciate Mr. Dorings words.
I have heard a lot really from both sides on this issue.
And what I'm so sad about is that everybody feels like they're losers.
I don't think anybody thinks they're winning this battle if it's a battle.
And no matter what is done, it seems like there's losers on all sides and that just really hurts.
I work weekly with people who are affected by this and hear stories.
It's just so sad that we choose not to treat each other as gods children, no matter where we live, from where we come.
In color, ability, it's just, it is just a real sad commentary on the current state of things.
I really appreciate the statements made by the four city leaders as we got into our business meeting tonight.
I'm grateful that the safety for the community rises to the top in what I heard all four of those people saying and that we as a council and just as human beings.
Need to commit ourselves to the safety of our families and our neighbors.
Thank you, councilmember. I'll just say one of the things that I will be looking at as we move forward and again, I appreciate that administrative leadership as well as the mayor have taken a vocal stance on this.
I also appreciate so much councilmember Doring and his taking the lead on this issue and I will be there to with him to bring items to this dyes if we need to.
At this point, I think it's so important that we hear from our community I appreciate appreciate everyone who came here tonight and you were heard.
I appreciate those that reach out to me and my colleagues on what's happening in in your lives and in your neighbors lives it's important for us to hear that.
I think it's also very important as we move forward as leaders to recognize that I think as the chief said this is uncharted territory and when you're in that kind of environment.
The more information the better and so I will be pushing our administrative team to give us more information give and when I say us I mean myself and our residents who are all of my constituents as much information as we can.
Even if we don't know the answer we should say we don't know and I know we do have a site that.
That miss Motela has gathered a lot of frequently asked questions it's a it's a living site that is constantly being populated I think we need more visibility for that site on on our on our city website and.
As I've heard a lot today from the administrator from the mayor we need to meet this moment and we need to to really respond to our community.
And and when they're hurting and and make sure we recognize that hurt is real so as we move forward you'll see hopefully more from us more visibility and we'll tell you when we don't have the answers.
So with that council member Fredericks. Thank you Mayor Norton I want to thank you for your statement earlier I thought you did a very nice job on that and chief Franklin we appreciate what you're doing for this community you're putting a tough spot often by a lot of people and I think you did a very good job of addressing what was going on tonight and we fully support you.
Councilmember Miller sure I'll just add I really appreciate all the people that came out to speak to us tonight and realize that people have other activities families commitments and there are many valid reasons that people wouldn't stay so I hope that people will take the opportunity to review the recording or perhaps they're watching live.
I hear loud and clear people are asking us to do something and I hear it in the area of public safety how do we reassure and I appreciate chief Franklin all of your reassurances of how we are engaging in public safety in the local work the ongoing commitments for right service.
I share council president shoe brings expectation that those resources are very public and clear to community members to make sure that they are not assuming something in a void of silence.
I'll also say that I share strong concern for school attendance for people to access work for people to access health care and to the.
And what I feel like we don't yet have in an coordinated way and perhaps the AG's office has this is documented impacts of what's going on in our community and I would hope that we can work towards.
Making that clearer to us as policy makers and understanding because at the MLK event that the chamber and the end of place EP hosted on Monday, there were testimonies directly going to that and I suspect goes much farther than what we heard.
So I would like to see some way that we receive reporting and understand how ice is impacting peoples health economics access education in our community.
And I hear loud and clear that people are going to have economic impacts on their own personal lives and I would think of about specific things that we do have the power to do.
We have the power to implement suspension of citations under a process for alternate side parking people are unable to move their cars it's knowing today people are making the choice between perhaps being ticketed.
And moving their car to the other side of the street so the policy can move through and that's a very tangible thing that we could do.
We can reassure people of programs to provide utility bill relief and while we can't directly implement an infection moratorium I would just note that the Minneapolis city council has universally sent a resolution to governor walls asking him to declare an eviction moratorium.
February 1st is coming really fast and I do worry that people will be choosing between basic needs going to work fear of detention and paying their rent and so I would.
Absolutely support a resolution engaging that we share that fear and asking the governor and state to take action to make sure that people do not lose access to their housing and protection.
Thank you thank you council member keen.
Thank you this is good for me to kind of hear where my peers are at I approach this both personally but then also as a representative differently and I've been trying to work with.
Our attorney and thinking of the bigger action so let me just start by like things have been very illities at my home and last couple of weeks.
The our national issues have come to our streets and our doorways and it's unsettling.
I get to respond in two ways one is an individual but then it then as a representative as an individual I feel a lot more that I can respond from my gut and say.
What should we do with our time and our talent and our treasure to support the community.
As a as a city council representative I cringe when I find myself doing that I want to operate out of a place of data and we've all talked about it's one of our bigger problems right now with this we have.
And to notes that we want to believe but then they're kind of we hear other things that we hear in testimony turn out not to be true and it's very difficult to get your arms around what we're really dealing with.
But over the last week I have been exposed to some firsthand accounts and very much on methods and techniques that are happening in our streets that I just think we.
With our with our our public safety responsibilities must act on methods of profiling and targeting that put Rochester residents a danger.
Before talking about the council here I want to talk about three other things three I three people I'm going to talk about that I think can come to bear on this first I want to call out to congressman Bradford said.
I know the representative as an honorable man who wants the best for his community he's a good Christian and and he's looking at this as the bigger picture he does see the value in it and like so many is viewing this current problem and our streets is about a policy that differences on immigration.
But I challenge congressman offense dad to change his frame and look at the methods being used in the impact it's having on his zone of self was Minnesota not just Rochester man Kato Austin like haven't looked at this not as a policy issue but as a methods that are coming to our community into our streets.
Second I'll call out to Bishop Robert Baron Bishop Baron is my bishop because I'm a practicing Catholic here in the city and Bishop Baron and I share us Chicago history we went to rival high schools in the 70s I didn't know him he didn't know me we went different paths but we met about three years ago and he was first around here but again.
Bishop Baron I mean he's written these letters and you can feel the pain in his voice he's struggling with this but he's also struggling with it as this.
Politics and where the church belongs and where this is and again I challenge Bishop Baron to go deeper into the human rights side of this and go beyond the separation of church and state.
I think that's the way people are going to be looking back at this in five and ten years and we should take that they take that lens at it right now.
Lastly I'll talk about our own police department in chief Franklin and chief Franklin I have been back and forth on this chief Franklin's in a difficult position because there are federal authorities operating in his city and they're not communicating with them.
Challenges for sure but.
Sorry let me get my but at the same federal authorities they're communicating outwardly that within days of arriving in Rochester they're rounding up murderers and thieves and drug drug dealers and I'm looking at this and going.
How can this be true we have our own police department here we think they're competent they think they're doing all stuff so.
I want to find help to get to the facts here and I'm challenging the police department to how can we get to the point that we know what's really happening in our streets when when there's no authority that reports objectively we are left to operate from a gut and as I say upfront I don't think we get good policy operating from the gut.
I've come to believe that the best remedy for what's happening in our streets lies with the courts.
Following the success both Illinois and California head Minnesota is now suing the federal government this is our state's attorneys offices leading the lawsuit and some cities are signing on to it.
I'm looking for ways you are legal department through through my peers to say what can we do in support of this.
I think it's important that if there's a lawsuit that's from Minnesota it doesn't look like it's from Minneapolis it looks like it's from southern Minnesota it looks like it's from other parts of the state I think it makes it a more powerful statement.
I don't know how we can come to bear I'm getting feedback that says stop don't make the lawsuit more complicated I'm getting feedback that says right a brief but as a council member I can't direct to that and an attorney's familiar Craig can't do it even if he wanted to because we are a deliberative body and we are a majority kind of rule thing and.
I guess I'm at the point now where I want to throw this out and see if we can do something like this and how we would do something like this and and that's where I'm at right now and I don't want to I really do a.
I appreciate the idea of people like me or my wife going and helping and donating money or doing these
other things. I think we can all do those as individuals and I think they're powerful. But what
I'm looking for is how a legislative authoritative body can come to bear. And I don't think we're
on the same place. But I think we've heard enough and I've heard enough for my peers up here. It says,
there start to be some consensus. Thank you. Thank you councilmember. Anyone else want to be heard? I think
I think at this point, I think our staff has heard the sentiments of the council and
will continue to be discussing this and bringing things forward to the council
dias as we move through this difficult issue. With that, is there a motion to adjourn?
Made by councilmember Fredericks. Seconded by councilmember Wall. All in favor say aye. All right.
Opposed. Say nay. We adjourned.