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Recognizing District 5 Payne-Phalen Community Council’s Executive Director Jack Byers for his service in the East Side of Saint Paul and declaring Sunday, March 29, 2026 as Jack Byers Day in the City of Saint Paul.
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WHEREAS, Jack Byers, PhD, brought to District 5 his skills in collaborative community process, urban design, historic preservation, transportation planning, and creative placemaking. He earned his Master of Arts and PhD in Urban Geography at the University of Minnesota and his Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies at the Philadelphia College of Art; and
WHEREAS, Jack Byers served as the manager of community planning for Minneapolis where he was a lead partner in a groundbreaking National Endowment of the Arts that funded the Creative CityMaking pilot in Minneapolis in 2013. Creative CityMaking fostered collaboration between local artists and city planners to develop fresh and innovative approaches for addressing the long-term transportation, land use, economic, environmental, and social issues facing the city and local communities; and
WHEREAS, in 2018, Jack Byers became the Executive Director at the Payne-Phalen Community Council and brought his vast experience in urban and community planning to lead and develop a district plan for the Payne-Phalen neighborhood; and
WHEREAS, the Payne-Phalen Community Council has furthered their commitment in resourcing and supporting the Payne-Phalen neighborhood from Jack Byer’s leadership with the Payne-Phalen Community Council’s Board of Directors; and
WHEREAS, Jack Byers has dedicated his time to partner, fund, and develop projects with the community in environmental justice, economic development, transportation access, air quality monitoring, food insecurity, housing justice, historic preservation, and public art. He navigated the unforeseen COVID pandemic with his staff and the Board of Directors to bring resources to the community; and
WHEREAS, Jack Byers has invested significantly ...
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