Minutes - Legislative Hearings

15 West Kellogg Blvd.

Saint Paul, MN 55102

City of Saint Paul

Minutes - Final

Legislative Hearings

Marcia Moermond, Chief Legislative Hearing Officer

Joanna Zimny, Deputy Legislative Hearing Officer

Mai Vang, Legislative Hearing Coordinator

legislativehearings@ci.stpaul.mn.us

651-266-8585

Tuesday, July 21, 2026

9:00 AM

In-person Room To be Determined; Remote

9:00 a.m. Hearings

Special Tax Assessments-ROLL

Ratifying the assessment for Emergency Sewer Repair at 777 OHIO

STREET, fees billed during the month of April 2026. (File No. J2602A,

Assessment No. 268503)

RLH AR 26-52

Sponsors:

Noecker

Referred to the City Council due back on 9/2/2026

11:00 a.m. Hearings

Summary & Vehicle Abatement Orders

RLH SAO 26-54 Appeal of Jane Foster to a Summary Abatement Order at 1312

SCHEFFER AVENUE. (Public hearing continued to August 5, 2026)

Sponsors:

Jost

Continue CPH to August 5, 2026 (July 28 LH).

Recommendation forthcoming.

Voicemail for Jane Foster at 11:17 am: this is Marcia Moermond from St. Paul City

Council calling you about 1312 Scheffer and your work plan. Feeling really well about

the thought you put into it. The only remaining item I see is the taller plants in the

boulevard, and what I am thinking is deadlines on this. I’m confused on what “current

state” is, we need to maybe adjust around that. That would be my question. Let’s try

and talk about this. It is on the Council agenda tomorrow, but let’s put this on August

5 Council agenda and talk to you next week between 11 and 11:30 and wrap up

those questions.

Referred to the City Council due back on 7/22/2026

Appeal of Mark Puchala II to a Summary Abatement Order at 2016

FREMONT AVENUE.

RLH SAO 26-59

Sponsors:

Johnson

The nuisance is partially abated. Grant to August 7, 2026 for full compliance with

orders.

Mark Puchala, owner, appeared via phone

[Moermond gives background of appeals process]

Staff report by Supervisor Lisa Martin: I do see he’s been working really hard on

getting pavers down and creating a path. We have a lot of tall grass and weeds

again, boulevard is getting high, and the “compost bin” isn’t really a compost bin. It is

an old planter in disrepair, and it cannot be used as compost.

Moermond: there is no tall grass and weeds note in the order, so that is an FYI. This

talks about the brush pile, rock pile, food pile, miscellaneous debris. You said the

rock pile is well under way to being addressed. I’m inclined to say that has been

abated, understanding you’ll be continuing to work on it so it isn’t a trip hazard, is that

fair?

Puchala: Do you have the most recent photos I sent? The rock pile is gone.

Moermond: yes, and converted to a walkway, it just looks like there’s a lot of space

between the stones so a foot at a bad angle could be an ankle breaker. As time goes

on you’d be doing it so it wouldn’t be a trip hazard.

Puchala: I do plan on keeping working on it and making it more elegant. May I ask,

why do I have to make sure my rocks are perfectly formed within my back yard where

others shouldn’t be going?

Moermond: I’m giving a heads up. I’m not looking for perfect. I’m just looking at it the

same way I would if someone had a spike in their yard, I’d say that’s kind of

hazardous.

Puchala: just a recommendation.

Moermond: I’m going to say this is addressed and I trust you’re going to finish the

project. It looks like it is almost there. In the fullness of time I’d like to see it made

more solid and less of a trip hazard.

Puchala: yeah, ok. I just wanted to make sure there wasn’t code that I don’t know

about. I want to keep within code, I just thought I could put my rocks down and didn’t

think it would be a code thing.

Moermond: no, no, I don’t know if I’d classify it as a hazard, but I wanted to discuss

before I cleared the books on it.

The brush pile, I’d like to find out what happened. That was a bit of a story. All the

trees in the alley were chopped down by someone. I called the police because the

pile was thrown in my driveway. I considered that an illegal pile. It happened to my

neighbors as well the same weekend. Police said their records show it was the

Department of Safety and Inspections who did it. When I tried to confirm it sounded

like it wasn’t literally Department of Safety and Inspections but an energy company

under approval of Department of Safety and Inspections. I am wondering who

chopped down all my trees and threw them in my driveway.

Moermond: Xcel has the right to do that, because they have easements on people’s

properties. I don’t know if they’re responsible for removing the branches. But, yes,

they have the authority to do that, to trim around the power lines.

Puchala: they were 10 feet below the power line. That’s so strange. Nowhere near

them. Do we know how I can reach them to know this in advance?

Moermond: I have no idea.

Puchala: that brush pile was me moving those to the side to get them out of the way.

I was breaking them down. I assumed when you said brush pile you meant the ones

next to the garage, right?

Martin: I’m looking at the photos and see brush by the shed by a pallet, a bunch of

stuff. That’s the one we’re looking at.

Puchala: that is grass, leaves and dirt from when I chopped down my lawn and when

the contractors came and destroyed my native planting. Am I not allowed to have

grass and dirt next to my shed?

Martin: in the second set of photos that were sent this morning you will see a pallet, a

bucket of rocks he’s still working on, and then branches and dried up brush. Most

people do take that to the yard waste site.

Puchala: I’m trying to break it down into the ground. I currently have grass spiders

and earwigs working through it. It is essentially mulch. I don’t have these photos from

this morning, can I get that sent so I can look at this too?

Moermond: absolutely. Ms. Vang will send them now.

Puchala: that is supposed to be mulch that I’m having the insects break down. There

are next to no branches there anymore. Also, the pallet I thought you instructed me to

make sure anything I put there needs to be raised off the ground, and the pallet was

an acceptable way to do that. Are you just noting that it is there, or are you saying it

needs to be moved?

Moermond: when we were talking about that before we were talking about firewood

and that the firewood would be what pertained to getting it off the ground. That big log

and how it could be kept. I remember it in that context. With respect to just a pallet

laying there. Leaves and stuff don’t need to be raised up. Will that stuff break down?

Yes. I’d think of that more for composting or taking to compost site. They are really

good at making compost from items like that. I guess personally—

Puchala: are you saying I can take compost off and then take it back? I drop it off,

they compost, then I can take some back to my yard?

Moermond: for food waste you can take it to that site or have a compost bin on your

own property. That also applies to yard waste.

Puchala: so really you want me to take all my grass and finish my compost bin

expansion and have them in a designated spot, not spread out near shed and tree.

Moermond: yeah. It has to be enclosed. I know people buy compost bins, some

people build them. Ms. Martin, can you summarize code on this?

Martin: usually the compost bins are kept away from property lines, you can’t use

plastic bags, it has to be contained, you can’t have certain things in the bins like dog

feces, plastic bags, that kind of stuff.

Puchala: I have put egg cartons into mine. Is that permissible?

Moermond: I don’t know. I assume so. I know they can’t be recycled as paper

products, but I can’t answer that.

Puchala: I’ve been bringing the insect population back with my own compost pile.

There’s a black hornet I’m trying to identify, and I finally just got dragonflies. It does

have me wondering, Lisa, you said my compost bin looks like a planter in disrepair. It

is actually old patio wood I’ve been building into a compost bin from scratch. Is there

a way we can lead me to a resource on how exactly I should make my compost bin

look to make it qualify.

Moermond: we can send you the part of the code that talks about compost and what

the city requirement is. The main thing is to double check location and I think you

need a lid.

Puchala: yeah I will definitely need the code because I know that if you seal it with a

lid it poisons the soil. I was thinking it had to be four walls and not three.

Moermond: I know most people’s compost bins are enclosed. They do get air. There

is balance.

Puchala: my inevitable plan is to have three compost bins in different sites and then I

turn them. I also want them to be four feet high, but I have been taking it slow to keep

up with all the other abatements. I thin we’re at the point where I can get this one high

enough, do you think a slotted lid is ok?

Martin: I’d have to look at that. The concern is animals getting into it. I know you can

buy them on amazon. Lots of different options.

Puchala: are they the oval ones?

Martin: large 80 gallon and obviously have venting.

Puchala: when I say poison I’m talking about lack of venting. I’m just trying to make it

myself as my own personal recycling. I’m using wood because it is biodegradable

and gives me an excuse to build the same thing 10 times just to bolster my

experience. When I expand my compost bin I can make sure the brush under the

pine tree is all put into it, I can also get it relocated easy once I understand the

guidelines about a proper location. That would be the food AND brush pile. The stone

pile is gone. Does that sound like I understand what I need to do?

Moermond: I would like you to review code. It sounds like you are on the right track,

but site unseen and a proposal it is hard to say? You could model yours after looking

at how others are done. We’re on our way.

Puchala: I just worry then about getting surprised at the next hearing again about

something working and then not finding out it was wrong until the next hearing and

then running out of time. Is it ok for me to send photos of my concept and plans as I

make them, rather than waiting for the next hearing? So I can get verification what I

am doing is right, earlier?

Martin: yes. Send it to all of us and we’ll all look at it.

Puchala: ok, I’ll send updates and then if it isn’t right progress you just let me know

and I’ll get to work right away.

Moermond: I was just pulling up code on this. 357.08. We will send that section to

you.

Puchala: when it comes to the tall grass and weeds and everything, I did have a big

issue with when the order was done. They sent a police officer to threaten me and try

and arrest me if I “speak with the team too much.” I actually asked him to call Lisa

with me to confirm the rules and she told them the 8” and 18” on the boulevard and

they just shredded up my native planting anyway. I mean, I sprained my ankle from

the police officer trying to corral me around and threatening to arrest me. They

LOPPED my milk weed and ran over the other milk weed with a lawn mower, almost

all my plants were destroyed. I’m wondering what I can I do to make sure they only

chop everything above 8 inches and also they don’t chop down the natives. Is that

just something no one can do anything about?

Moermond: If they were organized more in sections, garden areas---you are

admittedly in a space where you are transitioning in real time. Trading grass for these

plants, I think that’s where the problem comes about. Where would it begin and end

for them?

Puchala: they just saw milkweed and they said that looks like a weed so they started

destroying all of it. It was the front boulevard too, no grass, just barren, and they took

it down anyway.

Moermond: the Department of Safety and Inspections oversees the crews that do

that work. I know we talked exhaustively about what that would be and I don’t know

why EXACTLY the police were there. I don’t know how past events were interpreted

and if that required St. Paul Police Department to be there. That isn’t something a

work crew could handle.

Puchala: I do want to ask why is suicidal ideation regarded as threatening suicide?

Moermond: you have said the threat and you’re clearly ideating.

Puchala: I never made the threat.

Moermond: you said “I am going to.”

Puchala: I never said that.

Moermond: here’s the thing. It isn’t an issue that the work crew can deal with and I’m

sorry but it does elicit a more prescriptive approach by staff. They get to make a

decision about who they bring with them. I’d rather focus on what we have going on

today.

Puchala: I just want to know where I can go to get that corrected because being

threatened by an officer on my own property is a fourth amendment violation. I want

to make sure where I can go to get that matter resolved. When I was sent to the

district court and tried to file, then they told me to provide I had done so when that

was out of my hands. It looks like someone deleted my filing to the district court.

Moermond: I don’t know anything about that.

Puchala: who is the person to reach out to when the homeowner feels the tall grass

order was mishandled I guess.

Moermond: you’ve got here, Council and then appeals court. I don’t know about other

courts. You’d need legal advice that I can’t give or advise you on. It is going to

depend on what the question is exactly. You can throw the spaghetti against the wall

and see what sticks, but what is actually right would be an attorney helping you

through your questions and figuring out the right path to deal with it.

Puchala: I am sorry for the frustration. Everyone has told me they’re not the one to go

to and I’m just struggling to find who is. I think I need to contact appeals court and

leave it at that for now.

Moermond: whatever you think is best for you. That isn’t something I can help with.

The brush pile shouldn’t just be a pile. [reads out city code re: composting] We will

get that exact language to you.

Puchala: and all of that needs to be IN the bin, not spread on the ground.

Martin: we did mention the grass, there is a grass order out there for boulevard and

yard. Make sure the grass and weeds are maintained under 8”.

Puchala: are you saying I have ANOTHER grass order?

Martin: correct. It was issued sometime last week.

Puchala: everything is under 8” and the boulevard is under 18”. Why am I getting

another order when it is within jurisdiction?

Martin: is the boulevard all plants? Or is a mix of weeds, grass, and a couple plants?

Puchala: there is no grass on the front boulevard. The side boulevard on the east I

have been trying to supplant the grass with sedge, but sedge doesn’t grow past 6”.

The highest it can get is 8” and that’s not the whole plant. I keep the grass down to 3”

and try to let the sedge grow, but that’s only the side. Everything else is native

planting. I would love to send you a diagram I was working on of every plant that is

there and willing to go over what is and isn’t allowed and should and shouldn’t be

protected.

Moermond: I don’t have those in front of me as part of this appeal. I’m not ready to

talk about a new tall grass and weeds file I don’t have. I can’t legally do that. If you

want to appeal it, of course, but it isn’t in front of me today. Besides appealing the

only other way to deal with it is speak to Ms. Martin and her team and arrive at an

understanding.

Puchala: the stone pile in the current orders I wanted to discuss. I was ordered to

take care of that pile in the middle of an extreme heat warning and in the middle of air

quality problems. Is there a way I can file a complaint about being forced to work on

all of that during a dangerous situation?

Moermond: when you file an appeal enforcement on the order is stayed until the

appeal is resolved. So you didn’t NEED to be doing that once you filed the appeal. No

action can be taken by the Department of Safety and Inspections until we finish this

here.

Puchala: ok. I’ll just have to consult my own legal advice on that matter as well.

Moermond: if you file an appeal they can’t do enforcement on that order. They have

to wait until the order is resolved. You don’t have to be doing the work unless it is by

your own choice once that appeal is filed.

Puchala: I understand that, but I still have complaints I want to make about it because

of everything all of this has put me through.

Moermond: if you want to go a legal route, then yes, seeking legal advice. In terms of

operating within City government, you’ve already gone through this process, other

things would be reaching out to the Department head, mayor, your Councilmember

and writing a letter about your concerns. That’s another way to deal with it and see if

you can get a response that addresses some of your concerns.

Puchala: yeah, alright.

Referred to the City Council due back on 8/5/2026

1:00 p.m. Hearings

Vacant Building Registrations

Appeal of Degen Goitom, ACMN Properties LLC, to a Vacant Building

Registration Renewal Requirement at 1047 ARCADE STREET.

RLH VBR 26-14

Sponsors:

Yang

Waive VB fee for 90 days (to October 7, 2026).

Degen Goitom, ACMN Properties, appeared via phone

Staff report by Supervisor Matt Dornfeld : Made a Category 1 Vacant Building July

2022. We currently have trades permits on file and rehab is ongoing. I assume he is

appealing the Vacant Building registration.

Goitom: I started working for them December 2024, I inherited all of this and didn’t

know the history on Arcade. We figured out McQuillan did furnace and AC and didn’t

pull a permit because it was during Covid. That landed us in some hot water, so now

we have inspections going on. I did get letter about the 2025 Vacant Building fee.

That’s why I was calling initialing. I have a receipt from July 2025. We’re all done, we

just have the electrical and HVAC inspection to do.

Moermond: you said July 15, 2025?

Goitom: yes.

Moermond: That’s July 2025 through 2026. This fee today covers July 2026 through

2027. I’m happy you got permits pulled and are close to being done. What’s your

estimate for wrapping things up?

Goitom: we have recessed light covers we need to install, then that will be it. The

HVAC is just a bathroom fan install, I need to check in with him.

Moermond: I’m going to recommend the Council gives you a 90 day fee waiver,

which would last until October 7th. I’m thinking you’ll have everything done by then

and you won’t have any fee at all for the upcoming year. If it takes longer than that we

can talk again, because they will rebill you and we’ll sort it out then. Otherwise, if

you’re good to go by then you won’t have a 2026-2027 fee.

Goitom: thank you so much.

Referred to the City Council due back on 8/5/2026

1:30 p.m. Hearings

Orders To Vacate - Fire Certificate of Occupancy

Appeal of Wyatt Partridge of Hellmuth & Johnson, Representing

RLH VO 26-26

Brendon Smith, to a Fire Certificate of Occupancy Correction Notice

which includes Condemnation at 74 CONGRESS STREET WEST.

Sponsors:

Noecker

Grant the appeal.

Michael Lundblad, occupant, appeared via phone

Wyatt Partridge, attorney, appeared via phone

Staff update by Supervisor Keith Demarest: we received an update from Mr.

Partridge, indicating “updated title work for tomorrow’s hearing. On pages 9 and 10,

you will find the sheriff’s foreclosure certificate that says the redemption period is 180

days from the sale on June 9, 2026. This is the standard redemption period under

Minn. Stat. 580.23. I have also included the screenshots below from the title work.

The first one is the letter from the foreclosing lender’s lawyer that says the

redemption period does not end until December 9, 2026. The second screenshot is

the statutorily required notice that was provided to Brendon under Minn. Stat.

580.041, which says Brendon can keep living in the home for six months after the

sheriff’s sale and payoff the lender for six months.”

Zimny: If you are fine with it, I would like to provide comment. I did some research

and landed in the same spot Mr. Partridge did about who can live there and transfer

title and between that and what you submitted, my recommendation to Council will be

to grant the appeal. The condemnation is lifted and the property is now

owner-occupied. This will be on the August 5 Council agenda, but you don’t need to

do anything further.

Referred to the City Council due back on 8/5/2026

Appeal of Obsa Tahir to a Fire Inspection Report, which includes

condemnation, at 507 UNIVERSITY AVENUE WEST and 509

UNIVERSITY AVENUE WEST.

RLH VO 26-30

Sponsors:

Bowie

Grant to November 6, 2026 for compliance with the July 21, 2026 Fire Correction

orders.

Called at 1:58 pm at x7224: unable to leave message. Voicemail box full.

Called at 2:02 x7224: unable to leave message. Voicemailbox full.

Staff update by Fire Manager AJ Neis: exposed electrical, newer staircase built to

2nd floor and doesn’t appear to be built to code. In addition, one of the primary

concerns was the structure of the building---there is significant “stair cracking” in the

CMU block mortar. You could see daylight through the cracks from inside the

building. Potential water infiltration, shifting of blocks, many other things.

Moermond: we don’t have the appellant on the line, his voicemail was full. We tried

calling him twice. I’m going to recommend the Council grant 90 days to address these

issues, it can be used as S1 storage in the meantime, but after those 90 days the

Department of Safety and Inspections can move forward with revocation. The

Department of Safety and Inspections can do inspections after November 1.

Referred to the City Council due back on 8/5/2026