A divided St. Paul City Council voted not to allow a Lowertown property group to continue to close a skyway connection six hours early, but building manager Jaunae Brooks is pledging civil disobedience.

On Wednesday, the council voted 4-3 to require Brooks to keep skyway access at the Railroader Printing Building on Mears Park open to at least 2 a.m., in step with most of the rest of the downtown skyway system.

She plans to do no such thing.

“I’m going to continue to close at 8 p.m.,” said Brooks, who manages the 235 E. Sixth St. property that houses the Barrio Tequila Bar and the Bulldog Lowertown, after the hearing. “Sue me. Take me to skyway jail. I’ll take the fine.”

UPDATE: Building manager could face civil, criminal charges if skyway closed early

Brooks said she no longer wears white clothes to work because she’s become accustomed to cleaning up after vagrants who camp out in the skyway and damage glass, doors, locks and carpeting. Several months ago, she came across a startled man holding a knife defensively.

“It’s become my job. I’m a bum chaser,” said Brooks, who began locking the skyway at 8 p.m. around the same time. “Every day, it’s constant.”

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R.I.P., Dunn Bros downtown St. Paul: Closings, openings and more in restaurant news Council Member Rebecca Noecker, who represents downtown, led efforts to deny Brooks’ request. She noted that the city’s Department of Safety and Inspections, a skyway advisory group and any number of residential tenants have all asked building owners for uniform hours, standards and security.

“The value of having this skyway system open and accessible and coordinated is great,” Noecker said. “It’s part of the skyway that is closest to Mears Park, and CHS Field and all of that vibrancy.”

Noecker acknowledged that crime and vagrancy in the skyway system continue to be concerns, but she noted that the Capital City Plaza Parking Ramp had invested heavily in expanded security precautions after a homeless woman was raped and beaten there in April.

“I’ve been trying to figure out if there’s a specific reason why this building should be granted an exemption … from the public-private partnership,” said Noecker, who is part of a city-led committee looking at ordinance and security changes. “I know that there’s work to be done, but we’re doing it.”

Noecker joined Council President Russ Stark, Jane Prince and Dai Thao in voting against Brooks’ skyway variance request, while Chris Tolbert, Dan Bostrom and Amy Brendmoen supported it.

Andrea Wallace, a co-owner of Escape With Us Vacations, a seven-woman travel company, said security has improved since Brooks began closing the skyway at 8 p.m.

“Over the past two years we have not felt safe and have had to pack up early,” Wallace said. “Any evening meetings with clients have to be done off-site due to our safety concerns.”

Andy Flamm, a skyway business owner who chairs a skyway advisory committee, said there will be three meetings on skyway-related issues within the next week alone, including a public speak-out at 5 p.m. Monday at the Jerome Hill Theater at 180 E. Fifth St.

“Residents want the skyways open a consistent time period,” Flamm told the council. “I think the purpose of this exception request is so the building does not have to pay the money for security.”

Brooks said adding security guards to her relatively small property would cost her $50,000 to $100,000, costs that would have to be borne by her tenants.

To accommodate disabled residents — who have become vocal advocates for uniform skyway hours — Brooks proposed creating a buzzer system so Barrio visitors can alert staff they would like access to the skyway elevator in her building after-hours.

She also said she was open to installing a chairlift at ground level between the Barrio and Bulldog restaurants, which are separated by stairs.

The possibility of a buzzer and chairlift system intrigued several members of the council, including Tolbert, who said they could serve as an “interim” solution while a more “global” approach toward skyway security is worked out. But others questioned if those approaches alone would satisfy the Americans with Disabilities Act, and how long they would take to install.

“We have marketed downtown as a residential community, and this is an amenity that makes it work,” Prince said. “If we start chopping off all the things that attract difficult behaviors … we are not going to be a real city.”

Brendmoen, who spoke in favor of Brooks’ request, noted that “the skyway ordinance was written over four decades ago, and it’s perfectly reasonable to ask questions.”

She added, “I don’t believe that all of the skyways have to be open the exact same amount of time for them to be effective. I think this is a very reasonable request.”

Bostrom, who also supported the shorter skyway hours, said law enforcement is being spread too thin and looking to the police department to patrol the skyway at all hours is unrealistic.

“We can’t continue to lay all this stuff on the shoulders of our police officers,” he said.