Council Member Cam Gordons
Report to Seward Neighborhood 11-7-13
Cams next Seward Office Hours:
Tuesday, November 26th, 9:30-11:00am
Birchwood Caf, 3311 E 25th St
Items:
1) Thank You
2) Election Results
3) Sewards New City Council Representation
4) Huge Success for Ranked Choice Voting
5) Plain Language Charter
6) Community Solar Comments
7) Target Center
8) Change the Name
9) Homicide at the Blue Nile
10) Funds for Seward Commons
11) Tri-State Bearing Building
12) Openings on Boards and Commissions
1) Yesterday, I was proud and humbled to be reelected to a third term as
Second Ward Council Member. I want to thank all of the voters of Seward who
still live in Ward 2 for your continued confidence. As I have over the last
eight years, I will do my best to represent you on the City Council, and work
to make Minneapolis a more just, more democratic, more sustainable and more
peaceful city. I consider it a great honor and a great joy to be able to
continue to serve the residents of Seward and all of Minneapolis as a City
Council Member.
2) Here is what we know about the election results so far. Betsy Hodges
has been elected Mayor. In addition to me, the Council Members representing
wards 1 (Kevin Reich), 4 (Barb Johnson 7 (Lisa Goodman), 8 (Elizabeth Glidden),
and 11 (John Quincy) have been reelected. Challengers have won races in wards
3 (Jacob Frey), 6 (Abdi Warsame) and 10 (Lisa Bender), and a new Council Member
has been elected in Ward 12 (Andrew Johnson). The winners for three open
seats, in wards 5, 9, and 13, have not yet been determined. I expect winners
for these races to be announced by Firday. Scott Vreeland was reelected Park
Commissioner for the district that includes Seward.
3) One of the most significant election outcomes for Seward is the election
of Abdi Warsame in Ward 6, which includes much of west Seward. Council
Member-elect Warsame won won of the two Seward precincts in Ward 6, and Council
Member Lilligren won the other. Warsame will be the first Somali Council
Member in Minneapolis. I congratulate him on a successful campaign and look
forward to working with him to continue the great progress Seward has made on
strengthening the Franklin Avenue commercial corridor, improving safety and
livability, and building cohesiveness between all of the members of the Seward
community.
4) From all reports, Ranked Choice Voting was a huge success yesterday.
Turnout increased from both 2009 and 2005, the last municipal general election
that used the old voting system. Turnout was 31% in 2005, and 34% this year.
More than 9,000 more people voted this year than in 2005. In the mayors race,
a huge supermajority of voters - 87.7% - used their second ranking. From what
I have heard, most voters entered their polling places with a firm grasp on how
to use RCV. I want to thank Minneapolis Elections staff for a fantastic job
educating the public about RCV and the election in general. I am especially
thankful to them for the great Voter Education Guide that was mailed to every
household in Minneapolis, and believe that this is a precedent we should follow
for all elections. I also want to thank FairVote Minnesota for their work
educating voters all through the year and on election day. Everyones work
certainly paid off.
Rest of post
5) Both Plain Langauge Charter amendments passed yesterday by wide margins.
This is a good thing, in my view, as it will make our most fundamental document
easier for the public to understand and use. It will not go into effect until
January of 2015 so this will now give us an opportunity to continue to address
concerns and pass ordiances where it might be appropriate to replace a
provision removed from the charter.
6) The City Council has approved comments expressing serious concerns to
the Public Utilities Commission regarding Xcels proposed rules for implementing
the Community Solar legislation that passed earlier this year. These include
concerns about the proposed bill rate compensation that is inadequate, the
unjustifiable 10 megawatt annual cap and the 2.5 megawatt per quarter cap for
the first 24 months of implementation will only constrain the market and should
be completely removed. Additionally, the 5-7 different fees paid in advance
no matter the size of the system is neither fair nor reasonable. The City
Council does commend Xcel for stating in their filing that they plan to upgrade
and provide adequate resources and staffing to manage the community solar
garden program. This was not the case for their previous management of solar
programs.
7) On Friday, November 8, starting at 10:00 am, the City Council will take
public comments about a new proposal that has been in the works for months to
make significant improvements to the downtown sports and entertainment arena.
The proposal calls for extensive renovations and updating of the arena and
fitness center that will cost a total $97-99 million. The renovation costs
will be divided 50/50 with Public/Private investment. All of the public
investment of approximately $48.5 million will come from the City of
Minneapolis. The Timberwolves team owners will pay $43M (44.3%) and the
company (AEG) contracted to operate the facility will pay $5.5M (5.7%). The
deal also calls for extended lease agreements for the team and AEG from 2025 to
2032 and an additional commitment from the city to cover $50 million in ongoing
building improvements over that same time period. All of the citys debt for the
proposed renovation and for the ongoing capital improvements is projected to be
paid for through local sales taxes the same source of revenue to be used to
pay off our football stadium debt beginning in 2021. We will also have to
continue using separate revenues from some tax increment financing districts,
and other funds to pay off the existing debt we took on when we bought the
arena and to cover ongoing capital and operating expenses. This totals roughly
$8-$10 million a year and will likely be paid off in 2025.
8) I was proud to initiate and co-author an open letter from six
Minneapolis City Council Members to National Football League Commissioner Roger
Goodell and Washington Redskins team owner Dan Snyder expressing our
disapproval of the teams racist name in advance of the November 7th game
against the Minnesota Vikings in Minneapolis and the march and rally sponsored
by the national Coalition on Racism in Sports and Media
http://www.aimovement.org/ncrsm/. You can find the full text of the letter on
the Second Ward blog: http://secondward.blogspot.com.
9) A young man from Saint Paul was shot and killed near the Blue Nile
restaurant on Franklin Avenue on September 28th. His alleged murderer, Cedric
Chappell, has been arrested, and it sounds like the case against him is strong.
I have met with near neighbors of the Blue Nile, and have been working to find
ways through the Citys licensing authority to prevent future incidents of this
kind.
10) The Councils Community Development Committee has voted to apply for
$635,000 in grant funds for environmental investigation and cleanup for Phase
III of the Seward Commons development. The granting agencies are the Minnesota
Department of Employment and Economic Development Contamination Cleanup and
Investigation Grant Program, the Metropolitan Councils Tax Base Revitalization
Account Grant Program and the Hennepin County Environmental Response Fund.
11) The old Tri-State Bearing building at 34th Ave S and 25th St E is moving
to a public auction. The underlying zoning of the building is residential, and
it may have lost its nonconforming rights as an industrial building. Future
use of the building may require a rezoning to a low-density Office Residence
district. My office has been in contact with Seward Redesign, and it sounds
like there are several people interested in turning this building into
something that benefits the broader neighborhood and fits in well with the uses
along 25th St E.
12) Applications are now being accepted for open positions on the following
City boards and commissions: Animal Care and Control Advisory Board, Advisory
Committee on People with Disabilities, Minneapolis Workforce Council,
Pedestrian Advisory Committee, Police Conduct Oversight Commission, Police
Conduct Review Panel, Seniors Advisory Committee and Telecommunications
Network. For a full list of appointment opportunities and position
descriptions, go to www.minneapolismn.gov/boards/openings.