 Freya is Ward 5’s new summer intern. She is going into her senior year at Two Rivers High School and lives in Ward 2, on the West side. For the rest of the summer, she will be here on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. When she's not here, she’s probably working at Cooper’s Foods, playing volleyball, reading, or spending time with her friends. Freya was inspired to learn more about local politics because her mom is currently running for state house in 65B. She is excited for this summer and can’t wait to meet the whole City Council team!
Last Wednesday, the council voted to approve the allocation and spending of $83.3M in our American Rescue Plan funds. This portion of the ARP funds address critical needs in our community and include:
- $20M for City Payroll in revenue loss due to COVID, which helps free up general funds to meet more needs across the city in the future;
- $20M in funding for deeply affordable housing (homes for people making 30% of the area median income, which in Minnesota/Twin Cities area is about $35,200 a year for a family of 4);
- $2.5M of that budgeted $20M in housing for the Twelve-22 Apartment Project, which will bring more deeply affordable homes to University Ave (Ward 1)
Here are some of the upcoming ARP items the council will vote on July 13:
- $10M in funding for the Office of Neighborhood Safety, which I helped establish and which houses programs that help prevent violence and provide more non-police forms of emergency response to the array of issues facing our residents;
- $15.3M in workforce development and support, like expanding the Right Track youth employment program, supporting unsheltered folks in finding jobs with the No Barrier Employment Program, training and supporting more youth to obtain their driver’s licenses, and more;
- $4M in extending the Guaranteed Income pilot, which expands programming to support 300 low-income CollegeBound Saint Paul eligible families with $500/month for 24 months, and CollegeBound deposits of $100/quarter for one year for 900 families;
- $5M in updating software and technical systems that help city employees do their jobs faster and more efficiently in parks, libraries, street projects and more;
- $10.5M to remove and replace lead pipes in Saint Paul so that we learn from the lessons of Flint, Michigan and address lead pipe replacement as a racial equity issue; and
- $340k to help local businesses through covering the cost of 25% annual license fee reductions for certain businesses impacted by the pandemic and the Mayoral Executive Order related to vaccine requirements in businesses.
I am proud to have played a part in negotiating these historic investments for key priorities in our city.
 After a two year postponement, the Hmong International Freedom Festival is returning to Como Park this weekend, July 2-3. You can find more information about the festivities on the Freedom Festival website.
There will be a lot of extra traffic and activity around Como Park this weekend, for any non emergency inquiries or concerns, please contact SPPD at this number:
651-363-4118
I love meeting Ward 5 residents, hearing their thoughts, and discussing our city. I invite you to come visit the Ward 5 team downtown or schedule a Como Lake Lap with me.
If you’re not ready for humans quite yet, we understand, but do drop an email (ward5@ci.stpaul.mn.us) or give us a call (651) 266-8650 to stay connected.
Come on! You know you've been meaning to Lake Lap. Let's do this!
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