For those of you I do not know, my name is David Kaplan. I am a resident of the
Standish neighborhood - formally serving on the SENA Board - and now serving as
the Chair of the Hiawatha Golf Course Property Master Plan Community Advisory
Committee (CAC).
I am writing this open letter to you, my neighbors, and posting it
simultaneously on NextDoor, E-Democracy, the Save Hiawatha Golf Course Facebook
page, the Friends of Lake Hiawatha Facebook page, and am asking MPRB staff to
send it to all CAC members. My hope is to prepare us as a community for the
next CAC meeting, and the work ahead.
As we all know, this project has been steeped in strong opinions - and
rightfully so. This property is complex in how the different communities
interact with it, the emotional and historical connections it has for people,
and the role it plays a rallying point around environmental and ecological
concerns. And we can all agree that there are valid concerns around how to keep
homes dry.
I think it's important that we address the role of the CAC. It is not an
authoritative body. It has no statutory ability to affect change. It is
advisory only. Its role is to provide a handful of options to the MPRB
Commissioners for them to consider, and hopefully choose from, when they make
final design choices on the property. It is essentially the community's
opportunity to say, "based on the larger decisions you (the MPRB Commissioners)
have made, here is how we now want to masterplan the space and here is what is
important to us."
We are not a body that can decide the pumping question. That is the Board of
Commissioners.
What the CAC did do in a 9-6 vote was ask the MPRB Commissioners for
clarification of the original resolution which was poorly written and left much
to the imagination and interpretation, and that we be allowed to look at other
pumping scenarios - essentially asking this newly elected Park Board to
reconsider the decision of the previous one.
The MPRB Commissioners debated this for almost 2 months among themselves I am
told, and at two public meetings. Their response was clear as was their
instructions for the CAC:
Whereas, The Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board (MPRB) is the steward of
Minneapolis parks;
Whereas, Hiawatha Golf Course is a part of the Minneapolis park system and a
component of the Nokomis-Hiawatha Regional Park;
Whereas, The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board adopted Resolution 2017-243
on October 4, 2017;
Whereas, A Community Advisory committee (CAC) was formed to guide a master plan
process for the Hiawatha Golf Course Property according to Resolution 2017-243;
Whereas, On April 30, 2018, the CAC voted to request a clarification of
Resolution 2017- 243 by the Board of Commissioners;
Whereas, Resolution 2017-243, when it was first approved by the Board of
Commissioners, included direction for "strong consideration for traditional
golf in some form on the property" as the CAC explored possibilities through a
master planning process; and
Whereas, Golf stakeholders have noted the importance of Hiawatha Golf Course
and other MPRB golf courses related to the introduction and perpetuation of the
sport for black golfers.
RESOLVED, That the Board of Commissioners clarifies Resolution 2017-243 to
indicate the master planning process shall pursue a reduced pumping scenario as
conceptualized in Alternative B;
RESOLVED, That the Board of Commissioners intends for the CAC to bring forward
a solution resulting from the master planning process that includes, at a
minimum, a flood-resilient and ecologically-driven nine-hole configuration for
a golf course on the property;
RESOLVED, That the Board of Commissioners intends for the CAC to reflect in the
master plan appropriate methods of recognizing the role of Hiawatha Golf Course
and the history of black golfers in the Minneapolis park system; and
RESOLVED, That the President of the Board and Secretary to the Board are
authorized to take all necessary administrative actions to implement this
resolution.
Standish neighborhood - formally serving on the SENA Board - and now serving as
the Chair of the Hiawatha Golf Course Property Master Plan Community Advisory
Committee (CAC).
I am writing this open letter to you, my neighbors, and posting it
simultaneously on NextDoor, E-Democracy, the Save Hiawatha Golf Course Facebook
page, the Friends of Lake Hiawatha Facebook page, and am asking MPRB staff to
send it to all CAC members. My hope is to prepare us as a community for the
next CAC meeting, and the work ahead.
As we all know, this project has been steeped in strong opinions - and
rightfully so. This property is complex in how the different communities
interact with it, the emotional and historical connections it has for people,
and the role it plays a rallying point around environmental and ecological
concerns. And we can all agree that there are valid concerns around how to keep
homes dry.
I think it's important that we address the role of the CAC. It is not an
authoritative body. It has no statutory ability to affect change. It is
advisory only. Its role is to provide a handful of options to the MPRB
Commissioners for them to consider, and hopefully choose from, when they make
final design choices on the property. It is essentially the community's
opportunity to say, "based on the larger decisions you (the MPRB Commissioners)
have made, here is how we now want to masterplan the space and here is what is
important to us."
We are not a body that can decide the pumping question. That is the Board of
Commissioners.
What the CAC did do in a 9-6 vote was ask the MPRB Commissioners for
clarification of the original resolution which was poorly written and left much
to the imagination and interpretation, and that we be allowed to look at other
pumping scenarios - essentially asking this newly elected Park Board to
reconsider the decision of the previous one.
The MPRB Commissioners debated this for almost 2 months among themselves I am
told, and at two public meetings. Their response was clear as was their
instructions for the CAC:
Whereas, The Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board (MPRB) is the steward of
Minneapolis parks;
Whereas, Hiawatha Golf Course is a part of the Minneapolis park system and a
component of the Nokomis-Hiawatha Regional Park;
Whereas, The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board adopted Resolution 2017-243
on October 4, 2017;
Whereas, A Community Advisory committee (CAC) was formed to guide a master plan
process for the Hiawatha Golf Course Property according to Resolution 2017-243;
Whereas, On April 30, 2018, the CAC voted to request a clarification of
Resolution 2017- 243 by the Board of Commissioners;
Whereas, Resolution 2017-243, when it was first approved by the Board of
Commissioners, included direction for "strong consideration for traditional
golf in some form on the property" as the CAC explored possibilities through a
master planning process; and
Whereas, Golf stakeholders have noted the importance of Hiawatha Golf Course
and other MPRB golf courses related to the introduction and perpetuation of the
sport for black golfers.
RESOLVED, That the Board of Commissioners clarifies Resolution 2017-243 to
indicate the master planning process shall pursue a reduced pumping scenario as
conceptualized in Alternative B;
RESOLVED, That the Board of Commissioners intends for the CAC to bring forward
a solution resulting from the master planning process that includes, at a
minimum, a flood-resilient and ecologically-driven nine-hole configuration for
a golf course on the property;
RESOLVED, That the Board of Commissioners intends for the CAC to reflect in the
master plan appropriate methods of recognizing the role of Hiawatha Golf Course
and the history of black golfers in the Minneapolis park system; and
RESOLVED, That the President of the Board and Secretary to the Board are
authorized to take all necessary administrative actions to implement this
resolution.
