News from Cam Gordon
Council Member, Second Ward
August 2008
http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/council/ward2/
http://secondward.blogspot.com
2009 Budget. Mayor Rybak will present his proposed 2009 budget to the Council
on Thursday, August 14. The Council will meet throughout September and October
to review the budget and listen to presentations from each department. The
2009 budget will be adopted in December, after the Council holds a truth and
taxation hearing on December 1 at 5 pm. This year I am hoping to see a smaller
property tax increase (somewhere below the 8% increases we have seen for the
past several years) and a focus on core services including public safety and
basic public works. I will also be working to see that adequate resources go
to youth violence prevention, addressing our housing crisis, investing in
neighborhood-based initiatives and improving our infrastructure for bicyclists
as well as autos. I look forward to learning and sharing more in the weeks
ahead and I encourage you to share your budget priorities and concerns with me.
University District Rezoning Study. I am working to utilize the University
District Partnership Alliance to help move forward on planning and zoning
issues that have been raised in the University of MN Neighborhood Impact Report
and elsewhere. I have gotten support from Planning staff and fellow Council
members for the idea of doing a zoning study in the University District. My
hope is that this study will help address several land use and development
concerns including parking, housing and zoning code inspections and
enforcement, density, and residential design standards. Haila Maze, Principal
Planner with the CPED Planning Division and the East Sector Planner, will be
leading the effort for the City. I am considering moving for a moratorium on
new residential construction to help give us the time and space to complete
this important work.
NRP. The NRP Framework for the Future work group gave its final report to the
Committee of the Whole in July. Weve made real progress towards ensuring a
healthier future of our neighborhood organizations and a continued but
different neighborhood revitalization program. The most significant
recommendations in the report include the creation of a new resident-controlled
Neighborhood and Community Advisory Board, and a new Neighborhood and Community
Relations Department under the City Coordinator. The report recommends that
the City fund approximately 3 million dollars per year to neighborhood
organizations to support administrative work. There is also an emerging
consensus, made possible by the Legislatures decision to enable us to continue
funding it into the future, that there will be additional discretionary funding
for neighborhood priorities. You can read the full report here:
http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/council/2008-meetings/20080725/Docs/RCA-ProgramProposal.pdf.
The Council will hold a special meeting on August 20, at 5pm, to take public
comment on the reports recommendations for the future of NRP. You can submit
written comments on the Framework until September 11, to Committee Clerk Anissa
Hollingshead at <email obscured> or by mail to Council
Committee Clerk, 350 South 5th Street, Room 304, Minneapolis, MN 55415.
Fire Chief Alex Jackson. I was thrilled to support Alex Jackson, Mayor Rybaks
nominee to lead the Minneapolis Fire Department, now our first African American
Fire Chief.
Central Corridor. The Central Corridor Light Rail projects Supplemental Draft
Environmental Impact Statement has been completed. You can find more
information about it here:
http://www.metrocouncil.org/transportation/ccorridor/SuppDEISJul08.htm It
provides details on the various changes that have been made to the plan over
the past months including the new station location on the West Bank, the
at-grade alignment and transit mall on Washington Ave. on campus and changes to
how and where the line merges with the Hiawatha line downtown. The comment
period ends August 25. Comments can be sent to Kathryn OBrien at
<email obscured> or Central Corridor LRT Project Office, 540
Fairview Avenue N., Ste. 200, St. Paul, MN 55104
Youth Violence. The Council has passed a resolution I authored creating a
Youth Violence Prevention Plan Executive Committee and a Youth Violence
Prevention Citizen Advisory Committee for oversight of the implementation stage
of the Youth Violence Prevention Blueprint for Action. Additionally, this
month the City of Minneapolis has issued a request for proposals for youth
violence prevention services. Up to $200,000 in federal funds will be available
in grants of up to $50,000 per year. The purpose of the funds is to develop
programs to provide support, education and opportunities for skill-building to
parents of teens. Eligible applicants are 501(c)(3) not-for-profit agencies or
governmental agencies serving Minneapolis Empowerment Zone residents. Proposal
requirements are detailed in the full Request for Proposals,
(http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/procurement/EZRFP.pdf). Call 612-673-2301 fro
more information or to have a copy mailed to you.
Police Policies for Protests. At the July 25th Council meeting, I succeeded in
significantly strengthening the resolution laying out police policies for
public assemblies. It is now clear that the Citys policy is never to use
conventional rubber bullets, that officers may not tamper with or destroy
peoples cameras, that officers will not target law-abiding protest observers,
and that they wont subject protest organizers to disparate treatment. The vote
to add these protections was unanimous. I am hopeful that by going on record
laying out our expectations for the MPD, we will avoid the sort of escalating
confrontations that have occurred in the past.
Neighborhood Student Liaison Pilot Project. The University Student and
Community Relations Department has decided to initiate a new student ambassador
program in the Como area this fall. I am very supportive of this effort and
exciting that, after months of discussion and planning, it will kick off this
fall. They plan to hire 18 -20 students this August and September to act as
liaisons for 2 4 block areas to assist students living in the area, facilitate
communications, help build positive community relations. To learn more and to
apply for one of these exciting community organizer positions contact Kendra
Turonie, Coordinator for Student Community Relations, 612 625-8939,
<email obscured> .
Sign up for Email Utility Bills. Save paper and money on postage by signing up
to receive your utility bills online! Visit
www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/forms/utility-billing, fill out the form on the back
of your next billing stub and mail it in with your payment. If all Minneapolis
utility customers signed up for electronic billing, each year the City would
safe 44 tons of wood (equal to 302 trees) and enough energy to power seven
homes. Its also a great way for us to make your tax dollars go further.
Native Plantings. Responding to a number of instances of tall grass and weeds
violations being written for residents with native prairie gardens, we are
working with Inspections staff to create a registration process and signage for
purposeful native plantings.
Pentachlorophenol. My office is working with Seward residents who are
concerned about a newly-installed utility pole containing pentachlorophenol, a
chemical that is banned for most uses in the US (and all uses in some other
industrialized countries) and is almost certainly a human carcinogen. The use
of pentachlorophenal on utility poles is currently be reviewed by the EPA and
we have gotten a commitment from Xcel not to install any new poles treated with
this until the study is completed the September. They had planned to replace
up to 800 poles this summer. I am working to develop a City position against
the use of penta, either through a resolution, our legislative agenda, or our
franchise agreement with Xcel which will expire in 2014.
Council Associates. Agreeing with AFSCME Local 9, I voted against a proposal
to change Council Associates from civil service to appointed positions. I
disagree with this proposal for a number of reasons, including concerns about
completely politicizing this position, and the impact of this decision on the
City employees currently doing this work. Most importantly, I simply do not
believe that the Council can honestly make the findings that we are required to
make in order to create new appointed positions. Only CM Colvin Roy joined me
in voting against this.
Public Drinking Fountains. I am supportive of the decision to install 10
artist-designed drinking fountains throughout the City as part of our Art in
Public Places Program. I believe that we must do more as a City to resist the
commodification of water and defend its status as a commons a right and
responsibility we all share. My congratulations to fountain designers and
local artists: Mayumi Amada; Lisa Elias; Douglas Freeman; Gita Ghei, Sara
Hanson and Jan Louise Kusske; Seitu Jones; Andrew MacGuffie; Peter Morales;
Marjorie Pitz. Better access to good drinking water for everyone and quality
public art are two things we can do to make this a better city.
Park Dedication Fees. The Council has directed staff to develop a methodology
for charging new housing and commercial/industrial developments a park
dedication fee. I support this idea, which could help the Park Board better
afford capital improvements.
Pre-Employment Drug Testing. Human Resources has brought the pre-employment
drug testing policy back before the Council. It has left Executive Committee
without recommendation and has been significantly limited from the original
proposal that called for drug testing of all potential hires. Staff is now
developing a policy requiring testing of potential employees who will handle
cash or cash equivalents, have access to bank or investment accounts, or
dispatch or respond to life-threatening emergencies.
Farm Stands. The execution of the new farm stand permit process that I worked
so hard to create last year was, unfortunately, not very good. Applicants did
not receive applications until very close to the time they wished to open, and
completed applications were not turned around in a timely manner. My office,
along with CM Johnson, had to intervene to get permits out without an even
greater delay. I will be following up with staff to ensure that similar delays
do not occur next year.
Parking Meter Contract. The City is pursuing a new contract for parking
meters. One of the major goals of this change that I am supporting is to
accept more methods of payment, including credit cards.
Organic Collection Contract. The Solid Waste and Recycling department has been
authorized to negotiate with two different companies for our yard waste
composting contract. I have heard that there are still significant obstacles
to broadening these contracts to include collection of household organic waste,
but I will continue to work towards this important goal.
Non-Motorized Transportation. Transit for Livable Communities has released the
first list of funded 2008 Non-Motorized Transportation project. The 29th Ave S
bike/walk street in Seward is not included, and is likely not to be funded by
these grants. However, the pedestrian projects on the West Bank (including
improvements to the intersection of Cedar and Riverside, Seven Corners, and the
5th Street sidewalk) are on a list of projects that TLC expressed interest in,
but wanted to have more fleshed out before they would make a decision to fund
them.
University Bike Trail. The City is pursuing legal agreements with MnDOT that
will allow us to move forward with the University of MN bike trail, connecting
the east end of Bridge 9 through the Dinkytown trench to Oak Street and the U
of M Transitway. Our hope is to begin building this important project next
April.
Hiawatha Bike Path Lighting. The Citys Capital Long-Range Improvement
Committee (CLIC) has recommended that the City not fund lighting the Hiawatha
Corridor bike trail in 2013, which Public Works brought before them as part of
a larger trail extension project. I strongly support this lighting project,
which was voted the most important bike infrastructure improvement for 2013 by
the Citys Bicycle Advisory Committee, and will be working to get this back into
the budget. I would be willing to put off the trail extension to a later year
if that will make the lighting project easier to fund. I am also putting
pressure on Met Transit to help pay for this important improvement, before 2013
if possible.
Bike Ambassador Kickoff. The Citys new Bike Walk Ambassadors invite you to a
Bike Walk Celebration on Sunday, August 17th, from 1-3pm at the park along
Historic Saint Anthony Main Street. Meet the Bike Walk Ambassadors and Youth
Ambassadors! See bikes for all ages, ability levels, and needs! Gather
resources for walking as transportation and Safe Routes to Schools! Bring
your family and friends and help launch our new effort to increase biking and
walking in Minneapolis and its adjoining communities through education,
outreach and encouragement.
Solar on the Convention Center. The Council has approved going forward with
negotiations with EyeOn Energy on a 20-year power purchase agreement for
renewable solar power generated on the roof of the Convention Center. This
project is made possible by a $2 million award from the Public Utilities
Commission.
School Board Candidates Issue Forum. Come meet this years candidates for the
Minneapolis School Board and find out what they have to say as they address to
concerns of parents and families, Thursday, August 21, 6:30pm at Sabathani
Community Center, 310 E 38th St.
Bohemian Flats Day. Please join me Saturday, August 16, at Bohemian Flats Day
at Riverside Park. This is a celebration of the immigrant community that
existed in Bohemian Flats in the early history of Minneapolis, and the Cedar
Riverside neighborhoods broader history as a first stop for successive waves of
immigrants to Minneapolis.
Cedar/Franklin/Minnehaha/20th. My office continues to work with Public Works
to find a way to close the financing gap for the proposed project to
disentangle the intersection of Minnehaha, Cedar, Franklin and 20th Ave S. A
bonding request for $860,000 in 2011 was also zeroed out by CLIC. The City did
approve accepting a $26,715 Hennepin County Environmental Response Fund Grant
that will go to Seward Redesign to assist with the related Bystrom/Franklin
Station project.
Hiawatha Station Extensions. Metro Transit plans to increase the size of many
of the Hiawatha LRT stations to accommodate 3-car trains. This is great,
because it makes clear that we have far exceeded our initial ridership
projections. The construction project will begin next spring, and end in the
spring of 2010. They are projecting three or four closures of the station
during that period. I have asked that Metro Transit staff attend meetings in
Seward and the West Bank to discuss the project, especially ideas for
preventing conflict between pedestrians and cyclists in the station areas.
Historic Preservation in Prospect Park. Responding to the unanimous vote of
the PPERRIA board, I am working with the Citys Heritage Preservation staff to
formally nominate the neighborhood for local historic designation, the step
that triggers interim historic protections.
Oak Street Cinema/Opus Development. The Heritage Preservation Commission has
voted to allow Opus development company to demolish the Oak Street Cinema for a
large-scale student housing building. I will work to ensure that Opus delivers
on the commitments they have made to the neighborhood, including their promise
to build a multi-use art and film space on Oak Street.
Reconstruction and Resurfacing. The Council has completed the resurfacing
project on 20th Ave S on the West Bank, and will begin the Malcolm Ave SE
reconstruction project in Prospect Park later this summer.
Hiawatha Public Works Facility. The citys former concrete and asphalt plant, at
26th Street and Hiawatha Avenue in Phillips, will undergo a dramatic
transformation later this year when ground is broken for a new facility. A
public presentation explaining the sustainability components of the new
buildings will be taking place at the August 14th East Phillips board meeting
at 6:30 p.m. at Holy Rosary Church, 1614 East 24th Street. When complete, the
$15 million Hiawatha Maintenance Facility will be the highest rated
environmentally- friendly building ever built by a city in Minnesota. The
building will house over 300 employees who build and maintain the citys sewers,
bridges and streets. Two artists, including the Second Wards (Sewards) own Brad
Kaspari are also designing large-scale public art for the site.
Openings on Boards and Commissions. There are openings on the Civilian Police
Review Authority and Zoning Board of Adjustment (closes 09/30/08). To apply,
call (612) 673-3358 or email <email obscured>.
Please feel free to contact me and my office anytime if you have any questions
or concerns. We welcome your thoughts and feedback on any of these issues and
my positions.
Yours, in peace and cooperation,
Cam Gordon
Minneapolis City Council Member, Second Ward
673-2202, 296-0579
<email obscured>
http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/council/ward2/
http://secondward.blogspot.com