Title
Approving of the Use Agreement between the Department of Parks and Recreation and Neighborhood House for the Paul and Sheila Wellstone Center, and approval of the termination of the prior Lease Agreement governing the property.
Body
WHEREAS, the Saint Paul Parks and Recreation Commission ("Commission") is an appointed body established to advise the Mayor and City Council on long-range and city-wide matters related to Parks and Recreation; and
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul ("CITY") is the owner of certain real property encompassing the Paul and Sheila Wellstone Center, the adjacent recreation fields and open parkland, located at 179 East Robie St, Saint Paul, MN 55107 (the "Premises"); and
WHEREAS, CITY and the Neighborhood House ("PARTNER"), a Minnesota non-profit organization, entered into a Lease Agreement on July 8, 2004 governing PARTNER's operation of the Premises, and CITY and PARTNER now wish to mutually terminate that Lease Agreement, pursuant to its terms, in order to enter into a new Use Agreement consistent with the State Grant referenced below; and
WHEREAS, the State of Minnesota has allocated $2,150,000 in the aggregate, pursuant to Laws 2023, Chapter 71, Article 1, Section 14, Subdivision 104, as amended by H.F. 5007, 94th Leg., Reg. Sess. § 1 (Minn. 2026), to be given to the CITY to renovate the Wellstone Center; and
WHEREAS, the CITY and PARTNER have negotiated a Use Agreement governing the operation, programming, and ongoing use of the Premises, including delivery of the Government Program associated with the grant award; and
WHEREAS, successful implementation of the Government Program is dependent upon the continued and faithful performance of PARTNER's obligations under the Use Agreement, and failure to perform under the Use Agreement would materially impact the overall public purpose of the project; and
WHEREAS, Saint Paul Administrative Code requires that any lease of parkland or recreation facilities which will be for a period of more than one year be approved by the City Council following a hearing before the Parks and Recreation Commission; and
WHEREAS, the Saint Paul Parks and Recreation Commission recommended that adopting the Use Agreement, and approving the termination of the prior Lease Agreement, will have a compelling public purpose by facilitating investment in public infrastructure and continued delivery of recreational programming at the Wellstone Center; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of Saint Paul authorizes the appropriate City officials to (1) terminate the prior Lease Agreement dated July 8, 2004, and (2) enter into the attached Use Agreement, which governs the use, programming, and operation of the Wellstone Center in furtherance of the public purpose described herein.