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Approving a long term lease agreement by and between the City of Saint Paul and the Lower Phalen Creek Project for the site premises and building in return for financial investments in the project and future operation and programming of the Wakan Tipi Center.
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WHEREAS, the City owns one or more tracts of property adjacent to, and including, the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary (individually and collectively, the “Site”), where the future Wakan Tipi Center will be constructed, located at 590 4th Street East, Saint Paul, MN 55106; and
WHEREAS, the Lower Phalen Creek Project is a Native-led environmental conservation non-profit organization on Saint Paul’s East Side whose mission is to engage people to honor and care for natural places and the sacred sites and cultural value within them; and
WHEREAS, the Lower Phalen Creek Project is collaborating with the City of Saint Paul on the planning, design, and construction of the Wakan Tipi Center which will honor the significance of the Wakan Tipi Cave as a Dakota sacred site, provide authentic Dakota interpretation of the culture and history of Dakota people in Saint Paul, offer environmental education on the geology, urban ecology, restoration, and migration routes within and around Wakan Tipi through an authentically Indigenous lens, create space for cultural connections and healing through the arts and nature, and serve as a bold leader in Indigenous, place-based environmental and cultural work in urban settings; and
WHEREAS, the Lower Phalen Creek Project wishes to enter into a long-term lease for the site premises and building in return for financial investments in the project and future operation and programming of the Wakan Tipi Center; and
WHEREAS, the City will receive grant funds from the State of Minnesota to be used as part of the financial investments in the Site and these funds are general obligation bond proceeds which will result in the property becoming “state bond financed property” as defined in Minn. Stat. § 16A.695 subd. (a)(1); and
WHEREAS, at their June 10, 2021 meeting, the Saint Paul Parks and Recreation Commission supported this lease agreement draft and approved moving forward to work to its completion: and
WHEREAS, in consideration of the mutual covenants and promises hereinafter, parties agree as set forth in attached lease agreement draft; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the Saint Paul City Council supports this lease agreement draft and approves moving forward to work to its completion.