Council Approves Brooklyn Park Mayor’s Sister-City Visit, But Only In Nigeria

Council Approves Brooklyn Park Mayor’s Sister-City Visit, But Only In Nigeria

Brooklyn Park Mayor Hollies Winston had planned a vacation with his wife to Lagos, Nigeria.

Then came the idea of the mayor potentially adding on to his vacation to include visits to two Brooklyn Park sister cities. One of them is Udu in Nigeria. The other is Kakata in Liberia. Both are along the West African coast.

According to city leaders, the proposal generated plenty of discussion in the community. Brooklyn Park City Council Member Nichole Klonowski said during Monday’s city council meeting that the conversation, particularly online, turned “nasty.”

“I also want to say for me personally, and I’m going to assume quite a few people up here too, it’s been real troubling to see the accusations of neighbor against neighbor,” said Klonowski. “There’s been some really horrible rhetoric around this. It’s really heartbreaking. Brooklyn Park deserves better than that. We’re better than that as a city.”

Mayor Winston said he’s also heard the rhetoric surrounding his trip.

“When you lie, boldfaced lie, about a family, or the council or anyone. That brings back rotten fruit. It does not allow the community to come together and heal and do the things that we need to do,” said Winston.

Winston and his wife are paying for their trip to Lagos on their own expense.

Map of Africa’s West Coast. Kakata, Liberia, is labeled 1 on map and Udu, Nigeria, is 3.

According to City Manager Jay Stroebel, adding mayoral visits to the two sister cities would cost roughly $4,000 at the city’s expense.

Brooklyn Park budgets up to $30,000 annually for sister-city arrangements.

Several members of the community who spoke this week supported the expenses.

“The meetings the mayor will meet and the people he will meet in Nigeria and Liberia, all that is going to come back here,” said Dr. Mark Soli, a Brooklyn Park business owner who spoke during public comment at Monday’s meeting. “Where do you think they’re going to sell their families? Where do you think they’re going to be taxpayers? Where do you think the future physicians, astronauts, police officers are going to come from? Those sister cities.”

But some community members questioned the economic benefit.

“What is the benefit?” said Sunday Alibi. “And what is the agenda? Who are we going to talk to.”

City leaders pointed out that planning and communication for the trip had been compressed due to the June 14 murders of Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, at their Brooklyn Park home.

The compressed nature of the planning concerned Council Member Shelle Page, who felt it was “rushed.”

“When we don’t have the full picture, no matter who you are, we start to question everything, that’s the problem we have today,” said Page. “It’s not that anybody did anything wrong, it’s that we tried to do too much at once.”

In the end, the city council voted 4-2 to allow the mayor to visit Udu, Nigeria, without the additional trip to Liberia.

Additionally, City Manager Jay Stroebel would not accompany Winston on the trip as initially proposed. The mayor’s sister-city visit to Udu is expected to add about $1,600 in costs that the city would pay for, said Stroebel.

Council members Maria Tran and Page were the no votes. The mayor recused himself from the vote.

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