Star Tribune
Former Council Member Lisa Goodman is back at Minneapolis City Hall
Goodman started the job Monday after what Hjelle called a rigorous, thorough months-long interview process. A city spokesman said the position was posted to the city job board on May 23; the application period closed June 13; first-round interviews were done in mid-July and finalists were interviewed in mid-August.
Goodman said she first heard about the position when someone sent her the job posting, and then went through a months-long process with multiple interviews. In fact, she first applied to be the director of Animal Care & Control, and was one of two finalists, but didn’t get the job, she said. She did, however, previously land a six-week, $5,000 contract with the City Clerk’s Office for training council members on “best practices for agenda-setting and chairing committees,” according to a city spokesman.
While some speculated on social media that Mayor Jacob Frey handpicked her for the new job, Goodman denied that. Asked whether she’d ever talked to Frey about the position before being hired, Goodman said, “I don’t believe so.”
Frey released a statement saying Goodman is an excellent choice for the position because there are few people who have the “pedigree she does in building public-private partnerships to get big things done.”
“I am proud to have her join our team,” he said.
Goodman said she left the council because she said she was stressed about the state of the world and “done having people bad-mouth me on social media.”
Kurtis Hanna, a longtime cannabis lobbyist in Minnesota, said he doesn’t understand why the state’s second search for a permanent director was seemingly left unfinished. Hanna, a public policy and government relations specialist for the cannabis consulting firm Blunt Strategies, said he thinks entrepreneurs seeking business licenses deserve stable leadership.
“I’m sure that they would prefer to have a leader that they know is going to be sticking around for years on end,” he said.
Jen Randolph Reise, a cannabis attorney with North Star Law Group in St. Paul, sees it differently. While Reise said she’s surprised there still isn’t a permanent director, she thinks Briner and the cannabis office have done a good job laying the groundwork for the new industry.
“I think at this point, a leadership change would be disruptive,” said Reise, who’s assisting clients that are seeking cannabis business licenses. “Any new director that came in is going to want to put their own stamp and vision on the agency.”
Two east metro cities will allow accessory dwelling units (ADUs), also known as “mother-in-law apartments,” within their city limits this month, joining dozens of cities across the state.
The New Brighton City Council approved an ADU ordinance Tuesday and the Falcon Heights City Council approved its ordinance Sept. 11.
Advocates of accessory dwellings say that amid a housing crisis, the units are a way to add “gentle density” to cities. More than 230 such units have been permitted in the Twin Cities metro since 2016, according to Metropolitan Council data.
This year, a bill that would have required cities across Minnesota to allow ADUs failed at the Legislature. But several cities have passed their own ordinances in recent months, including Edina, Vadnais Heights, St. Cloud, and now Falcon Heights and New Brighton.
Falcon Heights City Planner Hannah Lynch said she had received calls from residents and people seeking to move to Falcon Heights asking about ADUs. She said most residents expressing interest wanted options to house family members. Accessory dwellings will now be allowed on lots with single-family houses, provided the plans meet size, setback and other requirements, Lynch said.
Ben Gozola, New Brighton’s assistant director of community assets and development, said in an email that the new ADU ordinance, drafted after soliciting community input through surveys and public meetings, replace outdated “servants’ quarters” regulations with modern ADU ones, giving residents options to age in place, house medical professionals caring for loved ones, create living space for young adults or make housing more affordable by renting the ADU or primary home.
Maggie Smith, the masterful, scene-stealing actor who won an Oscar for ”The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” in 1969 and gained new fans in the 21st century as the dowager Countess of Grantham in ”Downton Abbey” and Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter films, died Friday. She was 89.
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