Dooley: that’s my understanding. They’ve moved to a separate building but would like
to retain this building for use for their use. It is a confidential settlement amount, but it
will be enough to rehab the building. It is agreed to in principle we just need to sign it
and then payment will be coming immediately.
Moermond: one of the reasons this is in front of me is because this building has been
neglected. A fire damaged commercial structure is one of the worst things a
neighborhood can have. It is a visual trigger than increases crimes against persons. It
shows manifest disinvestment from the area. That puts pressure on me and the lack
of maintenance they’ve done gives me less confidence than I might otherwise have of
the owner’s ability to execute in a timely fashion. From what I’ve seen there’s been
trouble getting lawn mowed and walk shoveled and the City or the neighboring church
has been taking care of it. I wonder what ability they have to execute this quickly and
efficiently.
Dooley: I hear your concerns. The Center has been frustrated with the state of the
building as well. The rehab costs have gone up and up as it has deteriorated and
unhoused people have deteriorated it more. I had hoped the board would be here. I do
recognize the burned-out building makes it an undesirable place to live and they need
to come with direct answers not only for you but also the neighborhood at large.
Mychael Wright: lifelong resident of Aurora St. Anthony. I used to live right down the
block from here. Over the years I’ve noticed and want to reiterate the “blightedness”
and it being unkept and knowing Diane and Camphor have been taking care of
keeping it up. It has become a blight and depressing value of the homes nearby. We’d
like to see something done as soon as possible. It has been like this a long time, I
know I don’t have to tell you that. Myself and Reverend Walker would like to see it
resolved in a timely manner.
Reverend Carl Walker: I am a lifelong resident of Central Village and also co-founded
Walker West Music Academy. I live right there and pass by quite often. It is a bad
thing to happen to a community like ours where we see buildings like this. Our friends
at Camphor have had to go through a lot. When I come to Dale and University and see
this empty building and it is very unkempt. I would like to see something done quickly.
It would be good to see something happen so we don’t have to have this situation in
our community. Central Village tried hard to make it habitable for the community and
the park is right there too. It is important we keep that area up, just as we should in all
areas of St. Paul.
Caty Royce: I work for Frogtown Neighborhood Association, our office is kitty-corner
from this. We met with Mr. Doyo about a month and a half ago and he was clear with
us they weren’t interested in redeveloping. They were in the midst of this insurance
tussle and thought, probably correctly, keeping the building there was important for
that discussion. My sense is that they aren’t interested in redeveloping. Different than
what I’m hearing now. The extent of neglect has been ridiculous. I called and sent
emails to the general information with pictures of the unhoused folks, the mattresses
there, it wasn’t until Department of Safety & Inspections stepped up that things got
looking a bit better. They did a massive lawn mowing and cleaned up the parking lot.
The sense of neglect is pretty serious. It is a serious problem that they have had
enough time to deal with, in my opinion.
Moermond: tell me more about the nature of the nuisances. The City has obviously
written orders, but because Camphor has done work and others as well. What is the
nature of the problems?
Royce: the weekend after the enforcement at Wendy’s, they moved up to the building.
There was an unbelievable amount of garbage. Needles. We’ve been feeding folks
