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St. James council approves ordinance to add Pledge of Allegiance recitation and clears a slate of routine resolutions
Summary
The council adopted Ordinance No. 0364 (4th Series) to permit recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance at regular meetings (effective 07/16/2026, recitation to begin July 21) and approved multiple routine resolutions including a dog impound agreement extension, a pension-date correction, a corrected donation amount, a MnDOT grant signer amendment, retirement appreciation and appointments.
The St. James City Council on July 7 voted to adopt Ordinance No. 0364 (4th Series), amending council procedures to allow recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance at regular meetings. Staff said the ordinance’s effective date is July 16, 2026, the title and summary will be published in the newspaper next week, and the council expects to begin reciting the pledge at the July 21 meeting.
A member of city staff summarized the ordinance and its publication plan, saying the summary has been approved by the council and a printed copy of the full ordinance text is available in the city clerk’s office. The council approved the resolution to adopt and publish the ordinance by motion and hand-raise vote.
After the ordinance vote the council approved a series of routine resolutions by unanimous voice/hand-raise votes, including:
• Resolution 07.26.0.02 — authorizing the mayor and city manager to enter a dog impound, transportation and boarding agreement with the city of Darfur; staff said the agreement is a standing arrangement the council wished to extend through Dec. 31, 2031.
• Resolution 07.26.0.03 — amending Resolution 09.25.04 to correct the effective date for a firefighters’ pension amendment so the date reads Jan. 1, 2026 (this correction was identified during the audit).
• Resolution 07.26.0.04 — correcting an accepted donation from American Legion Post No. 33 from $200 to $500 per an amended form the city received.
• Resolution 07.26.0.05 — amending a prior resolution to adjust the signers on MnDOT grant agreement No. 1062046 (airport project) so signers match the original grant agreement; staff explained the change is administrative to match earlier documents.
• Resolution 07.26.0.06 — expressing appreciation to David “Pete” Paulson upon his retirement after nearly 29 years as a street maintenance operator (effective 06/30/2026).
• Resolution 07.26.0.07 — accepting the resignation of Steve Lanoy Lanoue and appointing Mark Anderson to the St. James Planning and Zoning Commission through Jan. 1, 2027.
• Resolution 07.26.0.08 — appointing election judges for the Aug. 11, 2026 primary and Nov. 3, 2026 general election and authorizing the clerk to substitute judges if needed.
Council members moved, seconded, and carried each item with a voice/hand-raise vote; staff dispensed with full readings for many of the routine items. No substantive debate on policy effects accompanied these approvals during the meeting.
