Addressing a supportive audience at the downtown Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter promised hefty new investments in housing and homebuyer assistance, street reconstruction and parks projects, all made possible by new local and regional sales taxes and an uptick in state legislative aid.

“There is no one silver bullet to address our housing challenges,” said Carter, who promised that community discussions would generate a more comprehensive approach toward rental assistance, affordable housing supply and home ownership.

The mayor, who is more than halfway through his second term in office, delivered the seventh and arguably most wide-ranging “State of the City” address of his tenure after awarding the inaugural “Mayor’s Medal of Honor” to the St. Paul Fire Department for their efforts to save a mother and six children trapped inside their Arkwright Street home this past January.

‘Swift and courageous action’

Fire Chief Butch Inks said some firefighters ran into the burning house twice, and one gave CPR to two adolescents, alternating between them until back-up arrived.

Despite a rapid mobilization that drew 63 firefighters to the Vang house, four of the children died, and mother Ker Lor — a former mayoral intern — and her six-year-old son remain hospitalized and fighting for their lives more than two months after the tragic fire. A three-year-old girl, Hnub Qub, has returned home to be with her father.

“It is because of the swift and courageous actions of our St. Paul firefighters and emergency responders that the Vang family clings to this hope,” Carter said.

Decreases in violent crime rates

Carter called the city’s police and fire departments among “the most capable teams of first responders on the planet” while also touting initiatives like direct outreach to victims of gun violence and free athletic programs at city rec centers for helping to achieve “double-digit decreases in violent crime rates across the board” from 2022 — a particularly deadly year on St. Paul streets — to 2023.

That includes a 40% decrease in auto thefts and 25% drop in firearm incidents, as well as reductions in homicides and aggravated assaults.

Carter said a new regional sales tax approved last year by the state Legislature will provide $5 million to $6 million a year for St. Paul housing initiatives, of which he intends to devote $1 million annually to homebuyer assistance programs like the nearly-depleted Rondo Inheritance Fund.

The $2.5 million fund offers added assistance to encourage former residents of the historically-Black neighborhood to purchase St. Paul properties within its borders.

Highlights of the mayor’s address

Other key highlights of the mayor’s address included:

• A rounded new “Our Common Cent” logo will brand parks and roads projects funded by St. Paul’s voter-approved 1% sales tax, including the reconstruction of Grand Avenue from Fairview to Snelling avenues, and work on downtown Pedro Park and Ecolab Plaza.

• To boost local hiring, the city will drop degree requirements for 90% of job titles and award extra points in competitive contracting for companies based in St. Paul or who agree to hire Right Track youth interns.

• Using his “Community First Public Safety” initiative as a model, the mayor said he will convene community discussions aimed at a more comprehensive citywide housing strategy.

• Managed removal of ash trees on public parks and boulevards impacted by the Emerald Ash Borer is likely to wrap by the end of this calendar year. Low-income residents who need help removing ash trees from their private property will soon be able to access no-interest/low-interest loans that would be assessed to their property taxes. The nonprofit Tree Trust will hire 60 youth workers to assist with citywide tree replanting.

• St. Paul Public Works will test “a new, overhauled snow management strategy” on limited streets, perhaps as soon as next winter, requiring all drivers to park on one side of the street on particular weeks to facilitate snow plowing. Carter said the strategy, already employed to some degree in Duluth and Rochester, could save money by cutting down on salt use, reducing overtime budgets and making snow removal more predictable.

• The Minnesota Wild and the mayor’s office have asked the state Legislature for $2 million for initial design and planning work toward a future renovation of the Xcel Center, the downtown concert and ice hockey venue that opened in 2000, as well as the adjoining Roy Wilkins Auditorium.

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