DULUTH — A trio of city councilors is proposing a new ordinance designed to better inform local renters of their tenant rights.

Councilors Terese Tomanek, Roz Randorf and Lynn Marie Nephew have introduced a policy that would require local landlords to inform tenants of the rights and resources that are already available to them to help resolve any issues that may arise with property managers.

But a local group called Duluth Tenants continues to push for

a new “right to repair” ordinance

that could give them an additional, potentially more robust tool to wield if a landlord fails to address basic maintenance requests in a timely fashion.

As proposed, the right-to-repair ordinance would empower tenants to notify a landlord of a maintenance issue, providing the property manager 14 days to address the problem or schedule a repair. If no action is taken within that time frame, a tenant would then have the right to hire a qualified third-party individual to execute the needed repair.

The tenant could then submit a receipt for the repair, requesting reimbursement or a commensurate reduction in rent — up to a maximum of $500 or half a month’s rent, whichever is greater.

Nationwide, more than 30 jurisdictions, including Chicago, have similar policies on their books. Nevertheless, Duluth could become the first Minnesota city to adopt such an ordinance, if the Duluth Tenants campaign proves successful.

Randorf has questioned the need for the “Right to Repair” policy, however, pointing to tenants’ ability to file a Rent Escrow Action or an Emergency Tenant Remedies Action through the courts, under existing law.

She suggested educating tenants of their rights would be more productive than creating new remedies.

Similarly, a “statement of purpose” statement accompanying the proposed council ordinance Randorf has co-sponsored asserts: “Providing tenants with clear and accessible information about their legal protections fosters transparency, accountability and community well-being.”

But the tenants union is not relying on the Duluth City Council alone to advance its cause.

The group’s volunteers have been knocking on doors throughout the community, and they already have gathered more than enough signatures to get the proposed ordinance placed on the ballot for a referendum vote come November. TakeAction MN Organizer DyAnna Grondahl said Duluth Tenants has a goal of collecting 5,600 signatures — about 2,000 more than required — and they’re less than 1,000 names away from that final target.

“We’re encouraged to see movement at the council level, but after thousands of conversations with renters and folks across the city, it’s clear that education alone isn’t enough,” Grondahl said. “Duluthians, renters and homeowners alike, are clear that passing the common-sense policy Duluth Right to Repair to ensure folks can get timely repairs in their units is the next step renters deserve.”

Randorf said she has remained in close contact with the tenants union and Grondahl.

“They are aware of all the work we are doing, in hopes that they will find it satisfactory to the ballot measure that they have been proposing, which we believe is systemically flawed,” Randorf said, pointing out that the council ordinance to be read for the first time Tuesday is just the first part of a larger councilor initiative to hold problem landlords accountable for not making needed repairs.

In a news release announcing the council’s efforts to enhance tenant rights, a second pending initiative also was laid out that could lead to the adoption of the International Property Maintenance Code to establish the minimum requirements landlords must meet in maintaining their properties.

Nephew warned that the proposed tenant union’s “right to repair” ordinance could create cash flow problems for organizations that provide critical affordable housing in the community, as repairs made under the new policy might not be eligible for grant reimbursements, making for a less sustainable funding model.

She also predicted that more landlords would shift away from long-term lease agreements and toward month-to-month leases that provide them with more flexibility but that also would come at the expense of housing stability for renters.

Randorf suggested that tenants might get over their heads in seeking repairs and could find themselves out on the street for jobs that unexpectedly snowball, putting them at odds with their landlords.

Nephew, Tomanek and Randorf all said they want to see landlords held to account, noting that the vast majority want to do right by their tenants.

For the small minority of landlords who don’t want to make timely needed repairs, they say the city can step up enforcement mechanisms and penalties. Toward that end, the council aims to convene a “study session” Tuesday evening with staff to discuss possible means to gain greater and stricter code compliance.

Tomanek said it is her hope that when people see the amount of work the council is investing, in consultation with trusted housing partners, “and they will see that we are putting forward a program that will help tenants in a very positive way,” making the right-to-repair policy proposal unnecessary.

But Grondahl said members of the Duluth tenants union remain unconvinced at present.

“Renters need real tools, not just information, to ensure their homes are safe and livable,” she said.

---

About the Duluth City Council

The Duluth City Council’s regular meetings are on the second and fourth Mondays of each month at 6 p.m., with agenda meetings at 5:15 p.m. each Thursday preceding a regular meeting, unless otherwise scheduled, at City Hall, Room 330. Meetings are also livestreamed and recorded for later viewing at duluthmn.gov/city-council/city-council-meetings-events/council-meeting-media.

District 1: Wendy Durrwachter

Represents: Duluth city precincts 1-7
Term expires: Jan. 3, 2028
Contact: 218-730-5700, Ext. 3, wdurrwachter@DuluthMN.gov

Represents: Duluth city precincts 8-13
Term expires: Jan. 5, 2026
Contact: 218-428-9195/218-730-5355, mmayou@duluthmn.gov

Represents: Duluth city precincts 14-19
Term expires: Jan. 3, 2028
Contact: 218-443-8364/218-730-5353, rrandorf@duluthmn.gov

Represents: Duluth city precincts 21-27
Term expires: Jan. 5, 2026
Contact: 218-730-5356, tswenson@duluthmn.gov

Clint Austin / 2024 file / Duluth Media Group

District 5: Janet Kennedy

Represents: Duluth city precincts 28-35
Term expires: Jan. 3, 2028

Contact: 218-341-6113/218-730-5357, jkennedy@duluthmn.gov

Represents: All Duluth city precincts
Term expires: Jan. 5, 2026
Contact: 218-730-5359, aawal@duluthmn.gov

Represents: All Duluth city precincts
Term expires: Jan. 3, 2028
Contact: 218-730-5352, aforsman@duluthmn.gov

At large: Lynn Marie Nephew, vice president

Represents: All Duluth city precincts
Term expires: Jan. 3, 2028
Contact: 218-730-5354, lnephew@duluthmn.gov

At large: Terese Tomanek, president

Represents: All Duluth city precincts
Term expires: Jan. 5, 2026
Contact: 218-216-9126, ttomanek@duluthmn.gov

---

Peter Passi covers city and county government for the Duluth News Tribune. He joined the paper in April 2000, initially as a business reporter but has worked a number of beats through the years.

WILKES-BARRE — Several residents raised concerns over a proposed hotel and convention center project on Public Square during city council’s combined work session and regular meeting Thursday night.

During the public comment session, resident Sam Troy said he was skeptical about the plan given that the developers tried and failed to complete the project on the site initially proposed at the intersection of River Street and Market Street, where the Hotel Sterling once stood.

“So we’re stuck with that — with that eyesore for God knows, probably the rest of our lifetimes,” Troy said.

H&N Investments LLC purchased the former Hotel Sterling property from the city in 2018 and later announced plans to construct a Gateway Hyatt Place Hotel and Conference Center there.

However, it was announced on May 15 by the developers that the roughly $20 million project would be moving to the old Martz Trailways building at 46 Public Square instead.

During a press conference, developer Hysni ‘Sam’ Syla and project engineer George Albert explained that moving the hotel and conference center to a building that was already constructed would be more cost-effective.

Because of rising construction costs spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, the project would have cost about $40 million if it remained on the Sterling Hotel site.

Mayor George Brown said he believed Syla may end up selling the property to a different developer. When the Times Leader spoke with Syla on May 15, he indicated that he wasn’t sure what he would do with the property, but new plans would be announced soon.

“Maybe it’s not his fault altogether, but I think it’s shameful what happened in that Sterling property,” Troy continued.

He also seemed skeptical of the project’s new location and questioned the developer’s available finances.

“How do we know [Sam Syla] is gonna come through with that?” Troy asked.

Almond Lane resident John Suchoski voiced similar concerns and asked council if they now felt it was wrong to approve Syla’s purchase of the property back in 2018.

“You didn’t go through and do your right research because they did not have the ability to build this property,” he said.

While he wants to be optimistic about the latested version of the project, Suchoski said that was difficult to do because it’s been in limbo for so long.

“I know everybody wants to be able to do that, and we want this down here, but do they have the actual ability to do it?” he asked.

Suchoski also criticized the council for its apparent removal of the reverter clause in the sales contract that would have allowed ownership of the property to revert back to the city under specific conditions.

“Like, now we have no control on what goes on that property,” he said. “It could be a gas station, it could be anything.”

Brown responded to these concerns by stating that the developers do have financing to complete the hotel project. He also pushed back against the notion that he was too optimistic about the project’s completion.

“Am I rosy about it? I’m very happy about it, okay? Because I see a very positive new hotel coming into the area that we don’t have. And that’s gonna be very competitive for us,” Brown said.

Additionally, Council Chairperson Tony Brooks, who was on council at the time, defended his decision to approve the sale of the property to Syla, saying he had a proven track record of success in the city.

Syla currently owns restaurants Cafe Tuscana and The Vault, among others.

“It’s completely understandable about everything else that happened with it, and I think you are absolutely correct. They didn’t have enough money. I wish we had a lot of rich people in Wilkes-Barre that could be developers and they would have egos to compete against each other. […] Sad to say, we don’t have that up in Wilkes-Barre,” Brooks said.

Council Member Bill Barrett pushed back again the idea that the city would have “no control” over what ultimately happened to the Sterling site.

“We all share the same concern about what’s going to become of the property, but it’s not going to be a gas station. It’s not gonna be a cigarette shop. There is zoning, there’s planning, all different safeguards to ensure that what someone does to the property is a good fit for the city of Wilkes-Barre,” Barrett said.

Huber Park improvements

In regards to agenda items, council voted to approve a resolution that would allow the city to apply for a Trails and Recreation Program (GTRP) grant in the amount of $250,000.00 from the Commonwealth Financing Authority of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for various improvements to Huber Park.

The park, often referred to as Mayflower Park, was officially renamed the Brian Grohowski Memorial Park in 2018.

Brown told council that if the city is approved for the grant, he hopes the park will be completely renovated, which includes installing new playground equipment and redoing the basketball court.

The field where the old baseball field used to be will remain green space, the mayor said, with the possible addition of some benches and fencing.

Brown also thanked Council Member Stan Mirin for championing the project and said they were both up at the park recently, speaking with residents.

Mirin said he believed the park hadn’t be updated since the 1990s.

Brown also gave an update construction at The Bog, off Dewey Lane. He expects work on the special needs playground portion of the project to be completed by the end of June.

Suchoski voiced his support for the Huber Park project and asked for more details regarding the planned improvements.

“I want, you know, I want that park fixed more than anybody,” he said. “I live right by it.”

Additional items approved include the second and final reading on an amendment to an ordinance that would raise fines for drivers who cut through parking lots to avoid waiting in traffic and the appointment of Jerome Dunn to the General Municipal Authority. His term will expire Dec. 31, 2028.

Possible community garden

During the public comment section, city resident Jamie Smith told council that he and a group of his neighbors presented a proposal on April 14 to the South Valley Land Bank, in hopes of acquiring a blighted property on 64 W. Ross St. to turn it into a perennial flower garden and outdoor youth education space.

While he knew the land bank had the final decision, he wanted to make council aware of his plans and ask for the city’s support. Smith also brought a group of residents along with him, who also support the project.

Brittany Stephenson shared her thoughts about the community garden with the Times Leader following the meeting.

“It’s a thoughtfully designed initiative that brings together environmental sustainability and educational opportunities,” her remarks read.

According to his website, Smith has been a resident of Pennsylvania since 2011 and founded the Social Fabric Collective in 2015, which is a nonprofit organization that provides professional photography equipment and education to school students.

“Jamie, I wanna say, I wanna thank you for investing in the city and all the work that you’re doing,” Brooks said.

Brown met with Smith and several other residents about the project following the meeting.

Smith told the Times Leader that he expects his proposal to be on the land bank’s June 11 agenda. That meeting will take place at 9 a.m. at the Earth Conservancy building in Ashley.