What's next for Roseville in 2026
The city council's first meeting sets the stage for the rest of the year
The Roseville city council met for the first time this year on Monday, Jan. 5, approving the Public Works work plan, discussing legislative priorities, declaring advisory commission vacancies, making city council liaison appointments, and designating an acting mayor.
Here's an overview of what was discussed at the meeting and what's ahead more generally for the City of Roseville and city council in 2026.
Public Works
Monday's meeting began with a robust overview of the Public Works work plan for 2026, which was then approved unanimously by the city council. Working within the $9.6 million Capital Improvement Plan budget, there will be roads under construction, watermains repaired and replaced, new pathways constructed, existing pathways resurfaced, sanitary pipes lined and repaired, storm sewers improved, and streetlights installed or repaired. Individual contracts will be brought to the city council for approval throughout the year.
Public Works is also planning projects related to recycling and sustainability, such as preparing for the Ramsey County curbside organics pickup program, Clean Up Day, implementing the Green to Go Ordinance, the Climate Equity Action Plan, Energy Action Plan, native plant sale, clothing swap, and more.
Lots of work will be happening on the Civic Campus Master Plan this year, which includes the new Maintenance Operations Center and a new building for the city's license/passport center and a dance studio for the Parks department. The city will be finalizing design concepts, awarding contracts for construction, site preparation, and beginning construction. The sales tax to pay for the Maintenance Operations Center began in July 2025.
For a detailed look at all the Public Works projects planned in Roseville this year, check out the Public Works 2026 Work Plan Request for Council Action document from the Jan. 5 meeting.
There will be other agency projects within Roseville as well from MnDOT, Ramsey County, Metro Transit, and the Capitol Watershed District. One major MnDOT project is on Hwy 280, which will be fully closed for part of the year.
Look at this map of Roseville to see what Public Works projects are planned for your neighborhood. For more details, watch the presentation or view the presentation slides in the meeting documents.
2026 Legislative Priorities
Last year, the city council adopted legislative priorities in anticipation of the 2025 Legislative Session of the Minnesota Legislature at the Jan. 6, 2025 meeting. At the Jan. 5, 2026 meeting, the city council reviewed the 2025 priorities and what bills had been introduced that are still eligible to be considered in the 2026 session. No votes were taken, but the following items were discussed as "high priority" items that the City of Roseville will directly advocate for passage by the MN Legislature:
- Funding for the OVAL: "Seek financial support for capital improvements for the state and regional asset of the Guidant John Rose Minnesota OVAL and support facilities through the State Bonding Bill"
- Small bonding bill passed in 2025, but local projects were not included
- City council indicated that this is the highest priority, as the OVAL is a resource for the broader region and state, not just Roseville.
- Ambulance Provider: "Allow local units of government to designate which licenses ambulance service provider may serve their community and to determine the appropriate level of service and response times."
- No bill considered by the Legislature in 2025
- This is a high priority for the Roseville Fire Department, as inadequate ambulance response times are putting pressure on the RFD's ability to serve the community. Chief Brosnahan explained more about this in an article we published in August.
- Massage Therapy Licensing: "Enact statewide Licensing of Massage Therapists"
- Bills were introduced last session, but no action was taken. See House File 362 and Senate File 1131)
- Roseville would like the state to enact standards for background checks, training, and licensing for massage therapists so that it is consistent across cities. Currently, Roseville has its own requirements for Massage Therapist and Massage Therapy Establishment licenses.
- Park Dedication Fees: "Modify existing state law regarding park dedication to allow for collection of park dedication fees on new development, without the requirement that the land must be subdivided."
- No bill was considered by the Legislature in 2025.
The city council also reviewed some of the priorities they support, but will let other groups directly lobby for. City staff referred to the League of Minnesota Cities for an extensive list of priorities metro cities are promoting for the 2026 Legislative Session. No votes were taken.
Commission Appointments & Vacancies
The city council took a look at upcoming citizen advisory commission vacancies and commissioners seeking reappointment to another term. They unanimously approved the reappointment of all current commissioners seeking to continue on their respective commissions. They also unanimously declared 8 vacancies.
- Finance: 3 vacancies
- Equity and Inclusion: 1 vacancy, 2 reappointments
- Parks and Recreation: 0 vacancies, 2 reappointments
- Planning: 2 vacancies
- Police Civil Service: 1 reappointment
- Public Works, Environment, and Transportation (PWET): 1 vacancy, 1 reappointment
Commissioner applications will be accepted until Feb. 6. The city council will interview applicants at the Feb. 17 meeting, with Feb. 19 reserved if more time is needed. Chosen applicants will be appointed at the March 2 city council meeting.
Contributing Writer
City Council Liaisons to Community Groups
In addition to serving on the city council and the Roseville Economic Development Authority board, city council members also serve as liaisons to various boards and commissions, task forces, and other community groups. Each year, the city council appoints councilmembers to these groups.
At the Jan. 5 meeting, the city council made no changes to the current appointments, except for the Council Representative to Legislative Work. Julie Strahan, who had been appointed to this role since 2023, asked someone else to take over since she had not been successful in connecting with local representatives in the past year. Matt Bauer volunteered, and the rest of the council supported that appointment. There will be a new council member appointed to the Visit Roseville board before Wayne Groff's current board term ends in August, but no one was ready to commit.
- Northeast Youth & Family Services: Wayne Groff
- North Suburban Communications/North Suburban Access Corporation: Julie Strahan
- Ramsey County League of Local Governments: Robin Schroeder
- Roseville Fire Relief Association: City Manager Pat Trudgeon, Mayor Dan Roe, and Fire Chief David Brosnahan
- Visit Roseville: Wayne Groff, until August 2026
- Rice & Larpenteur Alliance: Mayor Dan Roe
- City Manager Performance Review: Robin Schroeder & Matt Bauer
- Council Representative to Legislative Work: Matt Bauer
Acting Mayor
Each year, the city council designates a city councilmember as "acting mayor" to perform the duties of the mayor during the disability or absence of the mayor. The acting mayor would also step in if there were a permanent vacancy, until a successor is appointed. Usually this just means leading a city council meeting if the mayor is absent or attending a ceremonial activity such as a ribbon cutting. (The mayor doesn't otherwise have any different powers from another city council member—no veto power, for example.) In 2024 and 2025, Wayne Groff was designated acting mayor.
At the Jan. 5 meeting, the city council discussed two nominations. First, Matt Bauer moved to designate Robin Schroeder. Strahan raised the question whether it was appropriate to designate someone acting mayor if they are also potentially running for re-election. Schroeder's first term is up this year. Roe said this had come up in previous years, but there was no formal policy about it and no one had declared whether they were running for re-election or mayor yet. Schroeder seconded the motion to nominate herself for the role.
Strahan then made a counter-motion to nominate herself, citing her five year's of experience on the council. Groff seconded the motion, saying he supported Strahan for acting mayor due to her having more experience on city council without the opportunity to serve as acting mayor yet. Bauer expressed hesitation due to Strahan being less available during regular business hours, because of her day job. The motion failed: Strahan and Groff voted in favor of Strahan for acting mayor; Bauer, Roe, and Schroeder voted against. Then the motion to designate Schroeder acting mayor was taken up and approved 4-0, with Bauer, Groff, Roe, and Schroeder in favor. Strahan abstained.
For more detail on the full meeting discussion and what was approved in the consent agenda, watch the full meeting recording:
What's Next?
There's more to come in 2026 that we're keeping an eye on. Here's an overview of some of the big topics to pay attention to:
2026 Roseville Election
This year there is a mayoral and city council election. We don't know yet who is running for re-election, but the terms are up for Mayor Dan Roe (fourth term), Councilmember Robin Schroeder (first term), and Councilmember Wayne Groff (third term). There are no term limits for Roseville city council or mayor.
The Roseville Reader will be covering this closely and will provide more information about running for these local offices, candidate guides, and other local election information.
Ongoing Decisions
We're also paying attention to the following topics which have been ongoing discussions in the city council and will report back when there is news to share:
- Civic Campus Expansion (a.k.a. Maintenance Operations Center, License Center, and City Dance Studio).
- A stakeholder group has been assembled and meeting for the first time in January. Expect an update on this later this month
- Aldine Right-of-Way
- The city council is conducting a feasibility study on turning this informal footpath into an official city trail, a situation that has roiled the neighborhood over the past year. Expect an update on this from us soon too.
Naomi Krueger
- Roseville Leaf Recycling Center
- Last fall, the city council chose not to close the leaf drop-off site, but it's likely to come back for discussion in 2026.
Naomi Krueger
- Strategic Plan
- On Jan. 12, the city council will be receiving an update on the city's Strategic Plan and discussing next steps. This will be a good meeting to attend or watch online if you're curious about the future of Roseville. We'll be watching too!
