[0:03] All right. Hello and welcome everybody to the St. James City Council meeting on

[0:07] August 18th, 2026 at 5:30. Um call me order. We'll start it off

[0:14] with the Pledge of Allegiance.

[0:20] » I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America

[0:25] and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with

[0:31] liberty and justice for all.

[0:37] » All right. And we'll move on to approval of

[0:41] minutes. Can I get a consideration to approve August 5th, 2026 Council

[0:44] meeting? So moved. Steve? >> Second.

[0:48] » Kathleen? Any other discussion? All those in favor say I.

[0:53] » I. >> All opposed, same sign.

[0:56] Motion carries. On to payment of claims and ACH

[0:59] payments.

[1:02] » So moved. >> Paul?

[1:05] » Second. >> Sue?

[1:07] Any other discussion? All those in favor say I.

[1:11] » I. >> All opposed, same sign.

[1:14] Motion carries. On to new business, 13A. Uh

[1:18] 2026 city visit presentation by Daren Lee, Coalition of Greater Minnesota

[1:24] Cities. Daren. >> All right.

[1:28] Well, thank you. Uh thanks for having me. I'm Daren Lee with Flaherty & Hood.

[1:32] Uh we represent uh the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities up at the state

[1:35] capital. And uh during the legislative interim between sessions, we like to get

[1:41] out to our member cities and just kind of update you about what we've been

[1:45] working on at the capital uh this past session and kind of what we see coming

[1:48] up. Um so I'll get right into it.

[1:53] Um

[1:56] there we go. So, kind of as a reminder of who we are,

[2:01] we're more than 100 cities outside of the seven-county metro area. Those are

[2:06] the kind of That's our updated map. Um those are kind of the issue areas that

[2:10] we work on. We added a couple this last couple of years, uh housing and EMS, cuz

[2:16] it's something that we uh continue to work on. I work on

[2:20] transportation. Um

[2:23] And so, we've got different staff that work on all those different areas.

[2:30] So, I'm going to get into a recap of the legislative session, but I've got some

[2:34] folders that I want to pass out, too, and I'll explain what's in there.

[2:38] » Thank you.

[2:43] » Thank you. >> Thank you.

[2:47] Thank you. Thank you.

[2:51] » So, in here you'll find our um session report. So, this will get into a little

[2:56] more detail than what I can get into in the time we have here. Um

[3:01] then there's sort of FAQs, staff contacts. If you have any

[3:06] questions on any of these issues, please give us a call. Our environmental

[3:10] program sheet, uh we have our housing report. It's a

[3:14] little bit long, so I just included a QR code. You can read that. And then our

[3:19] candidate packet, which all of the candidates that are running for the

[3:23] legislature will be getting that. Uh

[3:26] with all the issues that we work on. And then events coming up, we got our fall

[3:30] conference coming up in Waite Park, and then our legislative action day next

[3:34] year. Summer conference next year is still uh

[3:38] TBD as far as the dates. And then our uh labor and employee relations program.

[3:44] So, that's everything in there.

[3:50] So, um

[3:53] this session. So, th- are kind of the uh focal points of the session. You

[3:58] know, there was a 67-67 tie in the house again. So,

[4:03] everything was a four-way negotiation. Uh

[4:06] it's an election year. So, some of these issues,

[4:10] um were pretty political. You had, in

[4:13] addition to those, you know, the immigration enforcement was a big one

[4:17] uh from earlier this spring. Fraud, they did they did some things on fraud, um

[4:22] like withholding payments. Uh nothing on guns or school safety.

[4:28] Uh Hennepin County Medical Center was one that was a big issue.

[4:32] Uh they did pass a rescue package for that. Uh they also cut tab fees. Um So,

[4:38] those were kind of the focal points.

[4:44] So, our agenda for the session was protect local government aid.

[4:49] Uh Pass a bonding bill, lead line funding

[4:53] to remove lead service lines. And then resist zoning uh preemption, which is

[4:59] something that's been coming up over and over again in the last few years. And

[5:02] so, that was those were our big agenda items.

[5:07] Here's the budget situation. Uh So, if you remember maybe

[5:13] So, February of 2025, we had a $6 billion

[5:17] deficit. Uh so, the situation did improve. There is still that structural

[5:22] imbalance, which is, you know, your revenues coming in versus the money

[5:26] going out. So, if that continues, you know, we would be in a deficit situation

[5:31] again. So, we'll have to see. There's a another forecast coming up in November.

[5:37] So, we'll see how how it goes. But, this was kind of the

[5:41] setup for the session. So, you still do have a little bit of a positive balance

[5:46] in that second biennium, but not a lot, and so it sort of limited the amount of

[5:51] new spending uh discussion. Uh back to 2025, the Senate Democrats

[5:58] did uh propose LGA cuts. Luckily, nothing was proposed this year

[6:06] because I think the budget situation did improve a little bit. So, we were uh

[6:11] thankful that that uh wasn't proposed again this year.

[6:15] Um but there was very little new spending contemplated other than a

[6:20] bonding bill and then some policy discussion.

[6:25] So, I want to get into bonding. That was one of our top priorities.

[6:29] Um a little background, so there was a bonding bill in 2025. Uh

[6:34] there was some concern they may not there may not be as much um

[6:38] sort of support for a bill this year since they did one last year. Typically,

[6:43] uh or historically, it's been, you know, a budget year, bonding year, budget

[6:47] year, bonding bonding year. So, um but that hasn't necessarily held at

[6:51] the last decade or so. They it's been more sort of sporadic. Uh but

[6:56] there's there's what the governor was proposing. Public Facilities Authority,

[7:00] 99 million, which is the agency that does all those water and wastewater

[7:03] projects that are so expensive. Uh a lot of

[7:07] uh state-owned assets that he was proposing for um preservation, like

[7:12] state-owned buildings, parks, um that sort of thing, the MnSCU system, U

[7:17] of M system. Um and sadly, nothing for roads and

[7:20] bridges, uh which was unacceptable

[7:24] to us, and then very little set aside for local projects.

[7:29] And this is one where this is a bill that of course, you know, requires 60%

[7:33] to pass cuz um to borrow money, that's what what is required. So, that's one

[7:38] where the minority party does have a a bit of say.

[7:41] Uh here's some of our folks testifying on

[7:46] uh bonding, support for various bonding bills.

[7:51] And so, here's what ended up passing. We had 1.24 billion, which is about as high

[7:56] as they could go to stay within the borrowing guidelines. And then quite a

[7:59] bit more for the public facilities authority than what the governor is had

[8:03] been proposing, four times as much. So, uh and luckily we did get some money for

[8:08] local roads and bridges. So, that was good. Um in what else is not on here is

[8:12] um there's a like 4 and 1/2 million for uh local road wetland replacement

[8:18] program as well. And then a lot of money for local projects. If you remember last

[8:21] year there wasn't any local projects in that bill. So, I think it was a pretty

[8:26] good outcome. Um except for

[8:30] unfortunately on lead service lines we had a little disappointment on this,

[8:36] which I'll explain, but just a little background first. So, the EPA is

[8:41] requiring that all lead service lines be removed um but by 2037. And so, there's

[8:48] inventory going on. There's there's initially 200

[8:52] uh 50 million that was uh put in place or

[8:56] passed in 2023. There's uh inventory money to inventory all lead

[9:03] water lines, service lines in the state. They've identified 87,000.

[9:08] There's still a lot to be identified, so that work continues.

[9:13] Uh but cities can propose a plan once they

[9:17] get that inventory. Um and then you'll get on sort of a

[9:21] project priority list uh to get that funding. Um so, it's it's a lot to get

[9:28] all those lines removed by 2037, so 1.5 billion. So, uh there's a lot to be

[9:33] done. Uh we're working with a coalition, and you can you can check out the map on

[9:38] um I think it's the Department of Health's

[9:40] website to sort of see what's been inventoried and where it is and where

[9:44] where those lines exist, but um you know, there it's going to be a lot

[9:49] to to get that all removed by 2037. We're working with a coalition of uh

[9:56] city groups and then labor groups and environmental groups to try to advocate

[10:01] for this. Uh

[10:03] but on in this bonding bill, there's only 15 million for that. So, we're

[10:08] going to need more to you know, make sure that the 2027 construction

[10:14] season, you know, we still have a full construction season. So, we're looking

[10:18] at coming back next year with that coalition that we're working with and

[10:22] trying to figure out a dedicated source of funding rather than just rely on what

[10:26] goes in the bonding bill cuz we did have 400 million for the Public Facilities

[10:30] Authority, which we want that, but you know, any more that would have gone to

[10:34] lead service lines would have come out of those other water and wastewater

[10:38] projects. So, we're looking at trying to find a dedicated source for that.

[10:43] Housing and zoning, so this is one that just keeps coming up over and over

[10:46] again. Uh 2024, it was called the missing middle bill, yes to homes, now

[10:51] it's the starter home act. Uh a lot of the same things that we've seen before

[10:56] trying to pre-empt local authority over where your how you do your zoning. Um

[11:02] all cities, so they they it had the way this

[11:05] framework worked it would have been, you know, cities under 5,000, 5 to 10,000

[11:09] and then over 10,000. So, all cities would have had to meet those

[11:13] requirements on that first bullet. Uh aesthetic and material standards, HOA

[11:18] pre-emption, and require alternative dwelling units. The one the only thing

[11:22] that did pass was that pre-emption of homeowners association. So, cities

[11:28] cannot require the creation of a homeowners association for development.

[11:33] That's one thing that did pass, but none of none of these other things did pass.

[11:37] Uh cities over 5,000, you'd have to up-zone like a third. You could pick a

[11:42] third of your um single-family and go up to four units,

[11:47] and then you could combine you have to combine uh commercial and multi-family,

[11:51] and then minimum lot sizes no greater than an eighth of an acre.

[11:56] And then for cities over 10,000, they would have required these some of

[12:01] these additional things like parking minimums, you'd have to pick two or

[12:05] three of those, uh creation of a housing trust fund,

[12:09] um for cities over 10,000. So,

[12:12] I think they wanted a little bit more flexibility than what they've proposed

[12:15] the last couple years, but it's still way too prescriptive. So,

[12:19] um we continue to oppose it. Uh the League of Minnesota Cities

[12:24] dropped their active opposition to the bill.

[12:27] Um it was the Coalition of Greater Minnesota

[12:30] Cities, Metro Cities, and the Municipal Legislative Commission that

[12:34] uh continued to oppose it. Luckily, it was

[12:37] defeated in the house, no hearings in the Senate, but we expect There's

[12:42] Bradley Peterson, our executive director, testifying on it.

[12:45] Um we expect that some version will come up

[12:48] again next session. So, we're going to have to continue

[12:52] uh to fight it again next year.

[12:55] So, looking ahead, of course, election year. Uh

[12:59] all legislative seats are on the ballot, all of Congress is on the ballot,

[13:02] there's a Senate seat. Um we just had a primary, so we know who the candidates

[13:06] are on the Republican side and the Democrat side. Of course, the Governor

[13:12] Walz is not running, as you know. So, we we will have a new governor. There's a

[13:17] lot of retirements that are taking place. So, we're working on

[13:22] meeting with all the candidates, getting them our candidate packet, let them know

[13:26] where we stand on this stuff um because there's going to be a lot of new members

[13:31] regardless of, you know, who is in control. There's going to be a lot of

[13:35] new legislators up there because of all the retirements. So,

[13:38] um more work to to do and January 14th is

[13:43] when the session starts and I think I just have a slide

[13:49] upcoming events. Uh one more plug for our fall conference

[13:53] and our uh legislative action day so you can

[13:55] come up and lobby with us next year if you want and we'd love to have you up

[13:59] there. I'm happy to answer any questions.

[14:03] Thanks again for having me.

[14:07] » Thank you. >> All right.

[14:09] » No questions? >> No. Appreciate it. Thanks, Darren.

[14:11] » Okay. All right. Thank you. Have a good meeting.

[14:13] » Yes, you also. No action needed on that.

[14:18] » No. No action. >> We will move on to 13B, consideration to

[14:22] approve resolution 08.26.04

[14:27] amending bylaws of the St. James Firefighters Relief Association.

[14:32] » Bill's going to talk on that. >> Bill.

[14:37] » Hello. Uh so, the fire department was asking to raise our retirement by $100

[14:43] per year. Uh

[14:45] this would not uh increase the city budget at all. It will not cost the city

[14:48] anything. Uh it'd be just part of our uh

[14:52] recruitment and retention program that we're trying to you know, we're almost

[14:56] full. Uh So, we'd like to try to stay there.

[15:01] This would help in that uh area.

[15:07] » Any questions?

[15:13] » So, move to dispense with the reading. >> Second dispense with the reading. Paul,

[15:17] any other discussion? All those in favor, raise a hand.

[15:22] All opposed, same sign. Motion carries. Thanks, Bill.

[15:27] 13C, consideration to approve resolution 08.26.05

[15:33] appointing housing redevelopment authority board vacancy.

[15:38] » Um so Melissa Wilson with the HRA had reached

[15:42] out to Chris and myself. Um there's a vacancy on the um

[15:47] resident position on their board of director and

[15:51] she is requesting um Ann L

[15:54] » Ann L >> Ann L, thank you. Uh Schofield to uh be

[15:59] appointed to the board vacancy. It would go into effect immediately and then um

[16:04] their 5-year terms, which would bring it to January 1st uh 2032.

[16:10] Um so, if there's any questions, I would take those.

[16:16] » So, move to dispense with the reading. >> Kathleen

[16:18] » Second dispense with the reading. >> Sue, any other discussion?

[16:22] All those in favor, raise a hand. All opposed, same sign. Motion carries.

[16:29] 13D, consideration to approve resolution 08.26.06

[16:35] authorizing the transfer of the 2019 Ford F-350 from the electric fund to the

[16:41] general fund for the fire department. >> Um so, this was discussed at a previous

[16:45] city council meeting um that when Matt received his new truck that we

[16:50] would transfer his uh old truck to the fire department for uses of the fire

[16:54] department. Um so, that is what is the resolution in front of you.

[17:01] » So, move to dispense with the reading. >> Sue

[17:03] » Second dispense with the reading. >> Steve

[17:06] Any other discussion? >> Do you have space over there?

[17:11] » Yeah. >> You do.

[17:12] » Yeah, we'll get rid of the old uh the old truck town. Uh

[17:19] It's a F-150 single cab.

[17:22] » Okay. >> It's the red one.

[17:24] » Okay. Right. You know you're tight. So I was

[17:27] wondering. >> it's it's tight in there, but we'll

[17:29] we'll uh sell it.

[17:34] Mhm. >> Okay.

[17:35] » I'll roll that in there. >> All right. Thank you.

[17:38] » Once we get that on the truck. >> All right. No other questions?

[17:43] All those in favor raise a hand. All opposed same sign. Motion carries.

[17:49] Uh 13E, consideration to approve resolution 08.26.07

[17:55] declaring abandoned and surplus property and ordering the disposal.

[17:59] » So within this resolution there's two um items that are being requested to be

[18:04] abandoned and surplus. Um the first one is the 2013 Ford

[18:08] Taurus. Um it sits here at City Hall. Um we re-

[18:12] City Hall received the old um police

[18:17] » squad car? >> Yeah, but is it it's not a Yukon, it's a

[18:20] » Oh, Tahoe. >> Tahoe. Thank you. I drive a Yukon, so

[18:22] it's going to get out of my head on head. Um so it's more favorable and the

[18:26] Ford Taurus just sitting and idling. It barely starts, so it kind of isn't

[18:31] needed anymore for city operations, so we're asking to get rid of that. And

[18:35] then in the kitchen at the community building sits a very large commercial

[18:41] mixer. It's leaking oil. It is non-usable, and so we'd like just to

[18:46] also dispose of that.

[18:52] » So move to dispense with the reading. >> Steve.

[18:56] » Second. Dispense with the reading. >> Paul.

[18:59] Any other discussion? All those in favor raise a hand.

[19:04] All opposed same sign. Motion carries. 13F, consideration to

[19:09] approve resolution 08.26.08 authorizing the city manager to enter

[19:15] into the temporary construction easement agreement with Fleet and Farm Supply

[19:19] Inc. for the 12th Avenue South Highway District expansion.

[19:24] » Um so Briana and myself along with my co-chair um have worked with the owners

[19:28] of Fleet and Farm to um execute said agreement for um construction

[19:35] of the uh entrance in We have to relocate his entrance due to um 12th

[19:40] Avenue South there when we do the highway district expansion for the

[19:45] business park. Um so the agreement in front of you is um what we agreed on.

[19:51] Uh the city will be um putting the new driveway in for him

[19:59] at our cost.

[20:03] » So move to dispense with the reading. Paul?

[20:06] » Second to dispense with the reading. >> Mary?

[20:08] Any other discussion? >> When are we hoping to uh start it and

[20:12] when might it be done?

[20:16] » Um it will be a part of the turn lane project and it will be needed to bid out

[20:21] the 12th Avenue project along with the turn lane. So it will be all together

[20:25] when we bid out that one project. >> So it will be next?

[20:29] » I believe the anticipated date is to bid it out in September.

[20:32] » Okay. >> But we we still need to get an

[20:35] additional easement with Gary Johnson accomplished.

[20:41] » So more than likely it won't be it won't be this

[20:43] » That that is the anticipated plan, yes, September.

[20:46] » Okay, great. Thank you. >> Any other discussions?

[20:52] All those in favor raise your hand. All opposed same sign. Motion carries.

[20:58] On to report of boards. Sue? >> Nothing.

[21:02] » Kathleen? >> Nothing.

[21:03] » Mike? >> No.

[21:04] » Amanda? >> No.

[21:07] » Uh we had coffee with the mayor today. I thought it went very well. We talked

[21:09] about housing. Had individuals show up with their

[21:13] concerns and expressed it to us. It's what I like to see is people come

[21:17] to us with what they have to say and not walk

[21:19] around town and say it. Uh, but I think it was a great

[21:22] conversation. We have people working on the right

[21:25] moves to uh bring some housing to do in our

[21:27] community, hopefully. So. Chris.

[21:31] » I have the movie for this weekend, August 21st through the 23rd is The

[21:36] Brink of War. It is a historical political drama set during the 1980

[21:43] set during 1986, focusing on the tense negotiations between US President Ronald

[21:50] Reagan and Soviet leader Gorbachev as the two leaders attempt to reach a deal

[21:55] that could dismantle nuclear arsenals. Pressure mounts from advisors,

[22:00] intelligence agencies, and the weight of history itself, making every con-

[22:06] conversation critical to the fate of global peace. It is rated PG. It is 1

[22:11] hour and 57 minutes. There is no movie on Friday. Saturday it starts at 7:00,

[22:17] Sunday it starts at 4:00 p.m. and all tickets are just $5.

[22:24] » Paul. >> No.

[22:25] » Mary. Steve.

[22:27] » Nope. >> Department heads.

[22:30] All right. Oh. Holly.

[22:33] » If you have the opportunity on Saturday morning, the ambulance service would

[22:37] love for you to come um to our farmers safety day that the ambulance

[22:41] association is putting on. Begins at 8:30, it's at the fairgrounds. Um it

[22:45] will be um some basic instruction on basic first aid, CPR, um how to apply a

[22:51] tourniquet, farm safety including grain bin rescue, and um power take-off

[22:57] safety. Um there's Schmidt's rolls for breakfast and um

[23:03] pork patties for lunch. We'd love to have you.

[23:05] » Thank you. All right. No one else? Can I get a

[23:09] motion to adjourn? >> So moved.

[23:12] » Sue? >> Second.

[23:14] » Paul? Any discussion? All those in favor, say I.

[23:18] » I. >> I.

[23:19] » All opposed, same sign. Motion carries. Meeting adjourned at 5:53. Thank you.

[23:24] » Thank you.

Council Meeting 8/18/2026

Transcript