St. Paul residents question winter lighting contract

For the past several years, the city of St. Paul has contracted with a foundation tied to the visitors and convention bureau Visit Saint Paul to string up lights around downtown and run the WinterSkate program by the Landmark Center.

Last winter the Visit Saint Paul Foundation hired Renee Mattson — the wife of Visit Saint Paul Executive Director Terry Mattson — to manage the contract. And Renee Mattson said she has since started managing another project for the foundation, hanging flower baskets around the city.

While the Mattsons said they were careful to avoid a conflict of interest, residents have questioned the contract.

"I think it's very problematic," said Jeanne Hall, who lives next to Mears Park, one of the spots where the trees were lighted. Hall was frustrated with the lighting there this year, much of which she said didn't work and was almost worse than not having any lights.

Hall and John Mannillo, who is on the district council that represents the area, got in touch with Renee Mattson about lighting concerns.

E-mails from Mattson to the residents identify her as a member of "Trinity Creek Consulting," and her e-mail address directs to trinitycreekllc.com.

Terry Mattson is the manager and registered agent of Trinity Creek LLC, according to state filings. He said he created Trinity Creek when he was producing the Tall Ships event in Duluth, where the couple lived before moving to St. Paul in 2014.

Renee Mattson said she never got around to putting the company in her name. "I should have taken care of it before the end of the year, but unfortunately I didn't," she said.

The person who previously managed the WinterSkate and lighting contract was no longer available, said Pat Harris, who is on the board of the Visit Saint Paul Foundation. The group issued a request for proposals and no one was interested except Renee Mattson, he said. She had previously been the executive director of Spirit Mountain ski area in Duluth.

"She's incredibly talented, and she was available to run this program and we were lucky to get her," he said.

Terry Mattson said he stepped down from his position on the board of the Visit Saint Paul Foundation before they hired his wife. "I'm not a part of the hiring, I'm not a part of the oversight," he said.

Mattson emphasized that there is a separation between the two nonprofits — Visit Saint Paul, which he runs, and its foundation. Visit Saint Paul focuses on marketing the River­Centre convention center and the city as a tourism destination.

City Council Member Dan Bostrom, who is on the board of Visit Saint Paul, but not the foundation board, said officials at the convention and visitors bureau seem to have followed the anti-nepotism policy that exists for city staff, which says an employee cannot influence the hiring of someone they are related to, or supervise that person.

"It doesn't appear to me that there was anybody trying to pull a fast one," Bostrom said.

The city of St. Paul gave the Visit Saint Paul Foundation $90,000 to string the lights in trees and run the ice rink by the Landmark Center this winter.

Part of Renee Mattson's role was to solicit additional money from sponsors. But Mattson said she received the contract late and didn't raise as much as she would have liked. Her payment is tied to fundraising, so the $18,500 she has received so far is "substantially less than prior contractors were paid," she said.

Under her contract, she could earn up to $70,000, Dupont said. Her pay for the flower basket project will also be based on fundraising, Dupont said.

However, even with more funding, Mattson said the problems with lighting in Mears Park — which sparked concerns from residents — are not easy to fix. "It's squirrels, it's vandalism, it's water" seeping into the city's electrical boxes, she said.

She said many others were happy with the lights. The city's parks and recreation director, Mike Hahm, and Joe Spartz of the Greater St. Paul Building Owners and Managers Association wrote a letter published in the Pioneer Press thanking the foundation and noting, "The lights provide that glimmer of joy and brightness for people coming to celebrate one of St. Paul's winter traditions."

Mannillo, with the local district council, remained less than enthused about the outcome — and the process.

"It's not arm's length," Mannillo said. "It bothers me because we're just not getting a very good deal."