Title
Declaring December 19, 2018 Dan Bostrom Day in the City of Saint Paul.
Body
WHEREAS, Dan Bostrom is retiring on December 31, 2018, concluding his 23 years of service as a Saint Paul City Councilmember, having won the Ward 6 seat in 7 consecutive elections, serving with 4 Mayors, 26 Councilmembers, 3 Executive Assistants and one, stalwart Legislative Aide; and
WHEREAS, Dan Bostrom has a long and storied career serving the residents of Saint Paul for over 50 years, first in the Police Department, and later as a District Council Board Member, Board of Education Member, City Councilmember and Council President, and member of numerous other boards and commissions; and
WHEREAS, Dan Bostrom has been a champion of public safety in the City, serving 26 years as a Saint Paul Police Officer and Sergeant and later taking his knowledge and insights to the City Council benefiting numerous policy, program and budget discussions; and
WHEREAS, Dan Bostrom’s vision for a community which is safe, clean and affordable led to the development and implementation of the expanded Fire Certificate of Occupancy Program in 2006, which came to include the periodic inspection of rental single-family homes and duplexes, thus ensuring safe and decent housing for an additional 15,000 families; and
WHEREAS, Dan Bostrom provided key leadership in the mortgage foreclosure crisis of 2008 and its aftermath to save neighborhoods facing full-blown abandonment by financial institutions leaving housing empty and neglected by bringing forward a package of legislation which has come to be known as the “Bostrom Ordinance;” and
WHEREAS, the “Bostrom Ordinance” increased accountability for maintaining vacant properties, ensured full disclosure of vacant building conditions to prospective purchasers, and prevented the transfer of dangerous and nuisance buildings prior to their rehabilitation - putting a backstop in the rapid transfer of properties among financial institutions without regard to impact on the community; and
WHEREAS, Dan Bostrom was pivotal in the establishment of the Phalen Corridor, including Phalen Boulevard, Williams Hill, Beacon Bluff and the Phalen Shopping Center - all told these efforts reclaimed 111 acres of brownfield and created thousands of jobs; and
WHEREAS, Dan Bostrom rolled up his sleeves working with neighborhood partners to get rid of numerous blighting influences like the porn video, pawn and gun shops on White Bear and Arcade and the notorious Payne Reliever; and
WHEREAS, Dan Bostrom will be missed by his many colleagues at the City of Saint Paul, who have come to know him as a gentleman, consummate professional, mentor and friend; Now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the Saint Paul City Council declares Wednesday December 19, 2018 to be DAN BOSTROM DAY in the City of Saint Paul.