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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION – JANUARY 31, 2026 11 policing creates fear and confusion and then seeks to criminalize dissent or resistance by local governments and residents. The operation undermines public trust and makes communities less safe. It makes many of those marginalized in our communities, even those with legal status, afraid to go to work, school, shopping or just go about living their life, as normal. Obviously, Arden Hills cannot control what the federal government does. We can control how our own city resources, land use authority and permitting process are used. We can decide if we will quietly facilitate or normalize this intrusion into our community or if we will draw clear boundaries around what happens in our city. This isn’t about defying federal law. It’s about exercising local authority responsibly, protecting constitutional rights and making clear that Arden Hills will not be a staging ground for non-routine civil immigration enforcement. Mayor Pro Tem Monson closed the public comment period at 6:10 pm. 3. COUNCIL DISCUSSION REGARDING CONCERNS RAISED BY THE PUBLIC Mayor Pro Tem Monson said the next agenda item is Council’s discussion in response to concerns raised by the public. She said there is typically only one meeting in January, February and March. The rest of the year there are typically two meetings per month. The first meeting in 2026 was January 12 and the next meeting will be February 9. A lot has happened during that time. There have been a lot of conversations. Staff has been working hard to coordinate information. Every day is different. Every day something new comes up. She wanted to address the timing of this meeting. She and Councilmember Weber called the special meeting. Three days’ notice is required. We did our best to get the word out. It was clear this couldn’t be wrapped in with a normal meeting. This discussion needed to be focused and narrow. We wanted to have this meeting before the February 9 meeting, which already has a packed agenda. She asked City Administrator Jagoe to provide the City’s response. City Administrator Jagoe thanked everyone for their comments and attendance. She will try her best to capture all of the items but understands she may not touch on every single comment shared. She appreciates everyone’s feedback and the suggested additions to our immigration resources page on the website. She hears the desire for partnering with other communities. Staff and council are having some of those conversations and will ensure those discussions continue. She said when the original statement was approved and adopted by the Council, there were three links on our website. Today there is contact information for our federal representatives, the ICE online locator system, Ramsey County Attorney’s office and the Attorney General’s office, legal support and more. There are 19 links today. She said links will continue to be added. Staff is looking at New Brighton, Shoreview and Little Canada for improving resources. That has become an hourly challenge because the topic is so fluid. She continues to look for more resources and that landing page will continue to be built out and will change daily. This week an email was sent out to all of the licensed and registered businesses that shared how to reach federal representatives, information regarding the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, know your rights from the Minnesota Attorney General’s office helping businesses understand what rights they have if federal agents come to their property. She has been in contact with the Mounds View School District and talked to the principal on how we can support families in the community. Their greatest message to staff is to share the information for Ralph Reeder Food Shelf. She shared that Arden Hills City Hall is a drop off location where people can donate nonperishable goods. We make sure any donations are promptly delivered to Ralph Reeder. Ralph Reeder is taking food donations as well as monetary donations. The link to donate is on our website. We will continue to build those opportunities into our resources page and will share on social media.