Council approves consent agenda, several public hearings and local funding actions; DOE grant and Ramsey County joint powers accepted

The St. Paul City Council on Feb. 5 approved a broad consent agenda and adopted multiple routine public hearing items with little debate.

Key outcomes:

- Consent agenda: Items 5 through 24 were moved and adopted by voice vote (five in favor).

- Tobacco shop license (Item 25): Motion from Council Member Johnson to lay over adverse action against a tobacco shop license (Peter’s Market, 530 Saint Peter Street) for one week; council voted to lay the matter over to Feb. 12.

- Sound variances (Items 31–33): The council closed public hearings and approved sound-level variances for Lucky Palooza and St. Patrick’s Day events at multiple locations, including Burger Moe’s and Patrick McGovern’s Pub.

- Joint powers agreement for solid waste (Item 30): Council approved a joint powers agreement with Ramsey County to accept solid waste and recycling funding.

- DOE Energy’s Future Planning Grant (Item 32): Council accepted a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for local resilience and clean-energy planning and authorized a corresponding budget amendment.

- Additional zoning and ordinance items (multiple): Several first readings were laid over for a Feb. 12 public hearing, including rezoning and administrative-code amendments.

Why it matters: The consent- and routine items move city business forward — permitting scheduled events, accepting grant funding for energy planning and finalizing intergovernmental funding agreements for solid waste and recycling.

Votes at a glance: The meeting record shows the majority of these items were adopted by voice vote (typically recorded as five in favor, none opposed) or laid over for second reading and public hearing where appropriate.