St. Paul City Council Delays Vote To Refine Church-State Protections In Development Project

Yesterday's Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that the St. Paul (MN) City Council has delayed it vote to approve a draft agreement for a $36 million community center project that involves church as part of the plans. The proposed Payne-Maryland Project will include a city-run library, recreation center and performing arts center, but also a privately run funeral home and a building for  the Arlington Hills Lutheran church.  The ACLU has requested project documents. There is to be a strict separation between city and church spaces, and no funds raised by city bonds can be used for religious instruction or worship. The delay however is to work further on the indemnification provisions designed to protect project partners from liability in any church-state challenge to the plans.