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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026.05.26 CCM REGULAR05/11/26 -1- DRAFT MINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER IN THE COUNTY OF HENNEPIN AND THE STATE OF MINNESOTA REGULAR SESSION MAY 26, 2026 CITY HALL – COUNCIL CHAMBERS 1. INFORMAL OPEN FORUM WITH CITY COUNCIL The Brooklyn Center City Council met in Informal Open Forum called to order by Mayor April Graves at 7:00 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL Mayor April Graves, Councilmembers Dan Jerzak, Teneshia Kragness, and Laurie Ann Moore. Also present were Interim City Manager Daren Nyquist, Interim Deputy City and Public Works Director Liz Heyman, Community Development Housing and Community Standards Supervisor Xiong Thao, Interim Finance Director Dan Tinter, City Clerk Shannon Pettit, and City Attorney Siobhan Tolar. Councilmember Kris Lawrence-Anderson was absent and excused. 3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 4. INFORMAL OPEN FORUM Mayor April Graves opened the meeting for the purpose of Informal Open Forum and reviewed the Rules of Decorum. No one wished to address the Council. Mayor Graves moved and Councilmember Moore seconded to close the Informal Open Forum. Motion passed unanimously. 5. INVOCATION Council member Kragness noted that, in honor of yesterday being Memorial Day, she wanted to acknowledge her military family; her father, Kevin Ford, served in the US Army. On her grandmother Myrna’s side of the family, her father, Oscar Payne, served in World War I in the US Army. 05/26/26 -2- DRAFT Grandma Myrna Kragness served in the Navy; her husband, John Kragness, served in the Marines. Her grandmother’s half-brother, Roger Payne, served as a paratrooper in World War II in the US Army. She noted her Uncle Glenn Kragness served in the Marines, Aunt Lori Kragness served in the Marines, and Uncle Steve Kragness served in the Marines. She thanked all those who serve, have served, or are supporting someone who serves in the military. Councilmember Kragness read a short poem, “In our hearts, we thought of you today, but that is nothing new. We thought about you yesterday and two days before that, too. We think of you in silence. We often speak your name. Now all we have are memories and your picture in a frame. Your memory is our keepsake. With which we’ll never part. God has you in his keeping. We have you in our hearts.” She noted that this poem is by an unknown author. 6. APPROVAL OF AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA. Councilmember Moore moved and Councilmember Kragness seconded to approve the Agenda and Consent Agenda, as amended, with amendments to the minutes as stated during the Study Session, and removing item 6f. Resolution Amending Resolution No. 2024-47, the Brooklyn Center Cultural and Public Arts Commission, to revise term lengths and rename the Commission, to get more answers from Staff, and the following consent items were approved: 6a. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. May 11 , 2026 – Study Session May 11, 2026 -- Regular Session 6b. LICENSES RENTAL RENEWAL (TYPE IV – six-month license) 5301 Russell Avenue North Amax Sommerset Llc – C/O LEE YAN 6915 Humboldt Avenue North Lynwood Pointe Llc 6614 Byrant Avenue North Yi Lin & Xi Lin 6804 Fremont Avenue North M Shaffer & C Shaffer 7000 Oliver Avenue North PE Enohnyaket / M Enohnyaket RENEWAL (TYPE III – one-year license) 4408 69th Avenue North Dmow Llc RENEWAL (TYPE II – two-year license) 5448 Dupont Avenue Paul Gathumbi 05/26/26 -3- DRAFT 6012 Kyle Avenue North James R Hager RENEWAL (TYPE I – three-year license) 4201 Lakeside Avenue North, #105 Cindy S Bohler 4201 Lakeside Avenue North, #212 Judith C Spanberger 4201 Lakeside Avenue North, #316 Maria Moldenhauer 5421 Twin Lake Boulevard East SOGDIANA LLC 7230 Girard Avenue North QZ FUNDING LLC 6c. RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE APPLICATION TO THE MN DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE’S SOLAR ON PUBLIC BUILDINGS PROGRAM FOR FUNDING TO DESIGN AND CONSTRUCT THE WEST FIRE STATION ROOFTOP SOLAR PROJECT AND AUTHORIZING ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS FOR THE SOLAR CONTRACTOR FOR THE PROJECT 6d. RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE APPLICATION TO THE METROPOLITAN COUNCIL’S REGIONAL SOLICITATION PROGRAM TO FUND THE FRANCE AVENUE MULTIMODAL SAFETY PROJECT 6e. A RESOLUTION RATIFYING APPROVAL OF THE PRELIMINARY AND FINAL PLAT FOR ADMIRAL LANE ADDITION AND AUTHORIZING FINAL PLAT RECORDING 6f. RESOLUTION AMENDING RESOLUTION NO. 2024-47, THE BROOKLYN CENTER CULTURAL AND PUBLIC ARTS COMMISSION, TO REVISE TERM LENGTHS AND RENAME THE COMMISSION 7. PRESENTATIONS/PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS/DONATIONS 7a. PROCLAMATION RECOGNIZING MISS JUNETEENTH MINNESOTA STATE PAGEANT Mayor Graves read aloud a proclamation recognizing the Miss Juneteenth Minnesota State Pageant in the City of Brooklyn Center. Councilmember Moore moved and Councilmember Kragness seconded to accept a proclamation recognizing the Miss Juneteenth Minnesota State Pageant. Motion passed unanimously. 05/26/26 -4- DRAFT 7b. PROCLAMATION RECOGNIZING ASIAN AMERICAN, NATIVE HAWAIIAN, AND PACIFIC ISLANDER (AANHPI) HERITAGE MONTH Mayor Graves read aloud a proclamation recognizing May 2026 as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month in the City of Brooklyn Center. Councilmember Jerzak moved and Councilmember Moore seconded to accept the proclamation recognizing May 2026 as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month. Motion passed unanimously. 7c. PROCLAMATION RECOGNIZING JEWISH AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH Mayor Graves read aloud a proclamation recognizing May as Jewish American Heritage Month in the City of Brooklyn Center. Councilmember Moore moved and Mayor Graves seconded to accept a proclamation recognizing May as Jewish American Heritage Month. Motion passed unanimously. 7d. PROCLAMATION RECOGNIZING NORWEGIAN CONSTITUTION DAY Mayor Graves read aloud a proclamation recognizing May 17, 2026, as Norwegian Constitution Day in the City of Brooklyn Center. Mayor Graves moved and Councilmember Jerzak seconded to accept a proclamation recognizing May 17, 2026, as Norwegian Constitution Day. Motion passed unanimously. 7e. PROCLAMATION RECOGNIZING WORLD DAY FOR CULTURAL DIVERSITY Mayor Graves read aloud a proclamation recognizing May 21, 2026, as World Day for Cultural Diversity in the City of Brooklyn Center. Mayor Graves moved and Councilmember Moore seconded to accept a proclamation recognizing May 21, 2026, as World Day for Cultural Diversity. Motion passed unanimously. 8. PUBLIC HEARINGS 05/26/26 -5- DRAFT 9. PLANNING COMMISSION ITEMS 10. COUNCIL CONSIDERATION ITEMS 10a. HOSPITALITY ACCOMMODATION LICENSE FOR SUBURBAN STUDIOS, 2701 FREEWAY BLVD Mr. Nyquist noted that City Clerk Shannon Pettit would lead the Council through this conversation item on the Hospitality Accommodation license. Ms. Pettit stated that she would go through the background on this item and noted that the Applicant, Suburban Studios, submitted their Hospitality Accommodation license renewal on March 31, which was approved on May 5, 2025. On May 31, 2025, the Fire Department Staff responded to a call and observed activity that led them to believe the facility was operating as something other than a Hospitality Accommodation. Ms. Pettit continued that around June 4th, 2025, a site inspection revealed that the building was no longer operating solely as a Hospitality Accommodation, but also a Recuperative Care facility. On June 23, 2025, the Council revoked Suburban Studio’s Hospitality Accommodation license based on findings and violations, providing some time for patrons to be removed from the premises. She noted that on July 2, 2025, the City received a request for a stay of revocation for the Suburban Studios Hospitality Accommodation license, and at the same time, notified the City that they were planning to file a lawsuit contesting the City's license revocation. On July 14th, 2025, the Council considered and approved Suburban Studio’s stay of revocation request. After a Staff presentation and a statement by Suburban Studio’s legal counsel, which allowed Suburban Studios to continue operating as a Hospitality Accommodation, while the parties litigated the license revocation and zoning violation. On April 6, 2026, litigation between the parties concluded the City prevailed in its decision to revoke Suburban Studio’s Hospitality Accommodation license. After the litigation concluded, the stay of revocation lapsed, and Suburban Studio’s Hospitality Accommodation license remained revoked. Pursuant to City ordinance, once a license is revoked, an Applicant must reapply for a new Hospitality Accommodation license. Staff had multiple conversations with the property owner via phone and email, reminding the owner that the license was no longer valid. On April 24, 2026, Suburban Studios applied for a new Hospitality Accommodation license; however, the application was incomplete. On May 14th, an annual inspection of Suburban Studios revealed the establishment was operating as a Hospitality Accommodation without the proper licensure. Ms. Pettit continued that Staff worked with the City Attorney to provide an outline and timeline of documents and processes necessary for the establishment to complete, and for the City Council to act on the new Hospitality Accommodation License application, which was fulfilled as requested, including a corrective action plan. She noted that the corrective action plan was not included in the packets, but the Council should have it in front of them for review. At this point, Staff and the City Attorney have reviewed the application, the corrective action plan, and all of the submitted documents, and Suburban Studios has complied with the baseline application requirements. As a result, Staff is recommending approval of the Suburban Studios, Hospitality 05/26/26 -6- DRAFT Accommodation license, subject to the following conditions. The first condition is that Suburban Studios accepts and follows the provided corrective action plan. The second is for Suburban Studios to continue operation in line with all applicable City, county, and state laws and regulations, and also comply with any additional conditions the Council deems necessary. She noted that she would now answer any Council questions. Councilmember Jerzak noted that in reviewing the corrective action plan, he asked City Attorney Tolar if this is a supplement to the existing hotel ordinance. He added that the reason he asked is pursuant to City ordinance, once a license is revoked, an Applicant must reapply for a new commendation license, and everything has been completed. He noted that when he reviewed the second page, number three, payment and policies, he did not see anything in this agreement that stated if it was necessary for the Police or Fire to request the guest list, they had to produce it. That requirement is within the parameters of law, and there are reasons for that. In past histories of people staying for longer periods than they can, there may also have been a crime committed, and he wanted to ensure that was included in the ordinance. Ms. Tolar noted that section five of the corrective action plan, under the record retention and inspection compliance. It states that under number three. There is also talk about it in the event of an emergency, as well, but to answer the baseline question, yes, this corrective action plan is supplemental to all of the requirements of the ordinance. Anything that is missed in the corrective action plan, and the corrective action plan is specifically for the violations that were discovered last year when the Council revoked the license. These requirements are in addition to what is already required of them as a hotel in the City of Brooklyn Center. Councilmember Jerzak stated that he appreciated that because under number three, if there is an emergency situation and they need access to that for whatever information, Police and Fire should be able to get that. He added that because the City prevailed in their litigation, he would like it to be considered to ask for recovering the costs regarding legal and Staff time. He noted that residents should not pay for a for-profit business that had their license revoked because of their actions. It is not fair that residents have to pay for all of the extraordinary amount of the Staff time that has gone into this. This also might be something the Council considers looking at, making an ordinance to try to recover some of these costs. If an applicant wants another license, and the applicant is the one who got the license revoked, then some of those costs should have been included to get their license back. Ms. Tolar asked if the Council would like her to comment. Mayor Graves stated she would like to hear Ms. Tolar’s opinion. Ms. Tolar noted that in the litigation, she has not discussed this with the City’s Litigation Attorney. But usually, within litigation, there are agreements regarding Attorney’s fees and such. She stated she does not know if that was the case in this particular litigation or not, but she could speak with him to see if his costs might have been recovered, or technically, the City is insured. The City does have to pay its insurance, and those legal fees costs are covered. She stated she would look into it if the Council would like her to, and asked if the Council would like to hold off 05/26/26 -7- DRAFT on approving this, as she researched this, or if the Council would like her to investigate further down the road for revocations in the future. Councilmember Jerzak responded that unless it is a consensus of the Council, and pointed out that this is the third time that the Council and City have had to deal with extraordinary costs, suspension, and revocations of these types of facilities, and this is a policy question that occurs to me. He noted that the Council cannot talk about the closed-door meeting they had with legal, but if the Applicant had prevailed, the City would have incurred a certain amount of costs, and the City has a deductible. Out of fairness to the residents who did not do anything wrong, yet are carrying the burden for this. Mayor Graves stated she did not disagree with Councilmember Jerzak and can think of a few different situations in which she has thought the same, but it would be good to know what is standard practice, not just in this particular type of situation, but just in general. Ms. Tolar asked if Mayor Graves was referring to the recovery of costs. Mayor Graves confirmed that is what she was referencing. Councilmember Moore stated Ms. Tolar was pretty clear about insurance covering, to some degree, the recovery for legal costs. In the closed-door session, there were some percentages of what the City has to meet for the deductible versus what is covered. It sounds like, at this point, the insurance would allow the City to kind of claw back some of those litigation costs. She noted she would like the information going forward, but it is not something that would hold up this approval. Ms. Tolar asked if the Council was referring to straight litigation. Anytime Staff have to litigate a claim, not just in the context of license renewal or revocation, but generally when the City has to go to court and spend extra legal fees to fight something that is technically not the fault of the City, the Council wants to know what their recourse is. Mayor Graves confirmed that is what the Council wants to know. Councilmember Jerzak stated that this is because the Applicant had to reapply, because once the license is revoked, they must reapply for a new Hospitality Accommodation license. The City has additional Staff time and resources associated with that, and to recover some of that for a license that may take an amendment to an ordinance. He noted he is curious about that because the Applicant is the one who caused the issue, not City Staff. Ms. Tolar noted that litigation costs and Staff time are two separate questions. Councilmember Jerzak confirmed that Ms. Tolar is correct. Ms. Tolar stated she wanted to make sure that she was understanding what the Council is asking. 05/26/26 -8- DRAFT Councilmember Moore moved and Mayor Graves seconded to grant Suburban Studios a new Hospitality Accommodation license subject to the Applicant’s strict compliance with Chapter 23- 2400 of the Brooklyn Center City code and the Corrective Action Plan submitted and signed by the Applicant. Motion passed unanimously. 11. COUNCIL REPORT. 12. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Graves moved and Councilmember Kragness seconded the adjournment of the City Council meeting at 7:30pm. Motion passed unanimously.