Agenda - Council - 10/22/2024 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilmember Musgrove asked if they could just ask residents to look for water damage in their closets rather than having an inspector somewhere with personal belongings. Planning Manager Larson explained that when they are conducting these inspections, they are not looking at belongings. Councilmember Howell shared that she was glad that Staff was able to work out something for Mr. Rohr and thanked him for coming forward this evening. She said she empathizes with his concerns of not wanting an inspector in his closets. She suggested finding a better way to do this that would be more amenable to residents. Mr. Rohr noted that the apartment building is less than a quarter mile from City Hall and suggested having a process in place to conduct these inspections once a unit becomes vacant. Councilmember Woestehoff thanked Mr. Rohr for voicing his concerns and shared that this is a fairly new program for the City so they are receiving all kinds of feedback on how they can do things differently. He explained that this program is designed to help create safe living conditions for all renters in the City. He said the point of this program is to help support renters and in turn support the building renters. He noted that not all issues get reported to the building owners. He shared that there have been many issues found as a part of this that building owners have been very happy to hear about so they can be addressed. He stated they are learning as they go with this program. Paul Sitz, 6521 154th Lane, came forward and shared that he has been a Ramsey resident for over 40 years. He stated he would like to offer a different perspective on the integrity of elections in Ramsey. He said he has voted in many elections and while he has been pleased with the outcome of some elections and not others, he has never questioned the integrity of the elections process. He noted that the officials in the State, County, and City who are responsible for the design of the election process have done a remarkable job. He added that eligible citizens can register to vote and vote easily. He explained that there are processes and safeguards in place to ensure that everything is done correctly, and this has been tested over the years. He stated that every County in the State has to do a recount on randomly selected precincts and these results are available online. He shared that he is proud to live in Minnesota where they have clean, well conducted elections and he has no doubt that the election results accurately reflect the will of the voters. He commended the election workers in Ramsey for their diligent work over many years at the precinct level as their integrity ensures that democracy works. 4. APPROVE AGENDA Motion by Councilmember Howell, seconded by Councilmember Woestehoff, to approve the agenda as presented. Motion carried. Voting Yes: Mayor Kuzma, Councilmembers Howell, Woestehoff, Musgrove, Olson, Riley, and Specht. Voting No: None. City Council / October 8, 2024 Page 6 of 10