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Photo By Cristof Traudes
Construction is expected to begin before August’s end to fix up a cracked pavement-ridden parking lot on the south shore of Lake Calhoun. “Substantial completion” of the project is expected by November.
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Parks update // Supporters of parks initiative deliver 17,000 signatures
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By Cristof Traudes
Supporters of parks initiative deliver 17,000 signatures
If signatures hold up, it’s all but certain that voters in November will decide whether to make the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board financially independent from City Hall.
Supporters of a petition drive collected 17,086 signatures by Aug. 10. They needed 10,449.
The effort drew out several well-known local political figures, including a former City Council member (Pat Scott) and a former Park Board president (Scott Neiman), to form a petitioners’ committee. Together with former Hennepin County Commissioner Mark Andrew and former mayors Don Fraser and Sharon Sayles Belton, they are leading the effort to make the Park Board a separate governmental unit.
“To let the parks fall into a period where they are not adequately supported would be a tragedy,” Fraser said moments before the committee delivered a foot-and-a-half stack of petitions to the city clerk’s office.
Currently, the semi-independent Park Board’s bonding and taxing authorities lie with the Board of Estimate and Taxation, a small group of appointed and separately elected officials. The parks feel threatened by a referendum already set for the Nov. 3 ballot that will ask voters to replace the taxation board’s members with the City Council. If that were to pass, parks independence advocates argue, the council would have too much financial control over the Park Board.
The parks initiative would make the Park Board a “separate and independent governmental unit of the state of Minnesota.” While the mayor would retain the right to veto the Park Board’s legislative actions and budget, the parks would have their taxing and bonding authorities set by the state, rather than the Board of Estimate and Taxation.
Each of the sitting nine Park Board commissioners supports the initiative. Mayor R.T. Rybak, meanwhile, considers it a “half-baked” idea formed out of “petty politics” and “false fears about non-existent threats,” according to a statement released shortly after the petitions were dropped off.
The city clerk’s office had 10 days starting Aug. 10 to verify each signature. If the signatures are valid, the initiative would move to the Charter Commission, which would then have to pass it onto the City Council to form the official ballot language before officially placing it on the ballot.
——— Construction to start soon at Calhoun parking lot
Crews were expected to begin work before August’s end on the overhaul of a parking lot on the south shore of Lake Calhoun.
Park Board commissioners on Aug. 5 approved a $319,919.15 bid from Veit and Company Inc. It was the first time the project had come before the board.
Parks staff, which developed the plans, has maintained the project amounts to maintenance, a classification that meant commissioners didn’t have to sign off on any of the plans. Critics have said the classification is a stretch, considering the work includes the installation of rain gardens and permeable pavers on the lot’s north side, and that the project’s development should have involved a more public process.
“Substantial completion” of construction is expected by November. It’s being paid for with regional parks money designated for operations and maintenance.
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Concessions committee sets date for next meeting
A citizens’ advisory committee investigating the future of concessions at Lake Harriet has scheduled its next meeting for 7–9 p.m. Sept. 3. It will be held at the Linden Hills Recreation Center, 3100 43rd St. W., and be open to the public.
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City declares snow emergency
UPDATED February 8, 2010, 1:27pm
By Cristof Traudes
With snow falling almost non stop since Sunday, the City of Minneapolis this afternoon declared a snow emergency.
Starting at 9 p.m. today, cars will not be allowed to be parked on either side of snow emergency route streets. From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. tomorrow, cars should only park on the odd side of non-snow emergency route streets, and from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, cars should only park on the even side of non-snow emergency route streets. Cars parked on the wrong sides of streets will be ticketed and towed.
To look up what streets are affected when, click here. More information is at ci.minneapolis.mn.us/snow.
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Neighborhood notebook
By Sarah McKenzie, Dylan Thomas and Jake Weyer
CARAG
Newspaper proposal withdrawn CARAG residents approved a motion to support the current management structure of the Uptown Neighborhood News in January, putting an end to a months-long discussion of a possible reorganization. CARAG Board of Directors Member Anna Matthes and Jill Bode, a CARAG representative to the newspaper’s managing board, requested in November that CARAG consider transferring management of the newspaper to them for several months. Matthes and Bode proposed they eventually take control of the paper, which they said was operating under an inefficient management structure. In January, Matthes also said newspaper managers had lost focus on community-building efforts, instead focusing on
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Green digest // Making Bryant a bike boulevard
By Dylan Thomas
Making Bryant a bike boulevardCARAG — If you bike, live or work along Bryant Avenue South take note: An upcoming public meeting is your chance to contribute to plans for a future bicycle boulevard. City planners expect to make changes to the street this summer that will make the north-south street more bike-friendly. Area residents have an opportunity to voice their opinions on some of those changes 7 p.m. Feb. 9 at Bryant Square Park, 3101 Bryant Ave. S. New pavement markings and signage to identify the bicycle boulevard are a given, but other elements intended to slow vehicle traffic and improve the safety of intersections will be put to a vote. Ballots will ask voters to rank new street features such as curb extensions,
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Crime reports
By Jake Weyer
Editor’s note: Alleged crimes against persons (assault, murder, etc.) will feature the + symbol. Note, this compilation of crime reports provides highlights of area criminal activity. It’s not intended to be a comprehensive overview of Southwest crime.
CARAG+ Jan. 26, 8:20 p.m., 3200 Emerson Ave. S.Officers were dispatched to a report of a robbery at gunpoint. The victim was a 26-year-old man and two suspects, who fled in a car, were involved. Police thought the robbery might be related to several others that have been reported recently in the area. EAST ISLESJan. 30, between 3:15 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., W. Lake St. and East Calhoun
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Biz buzz // Guse Green Grocer
By By Lana Walker and Jake Weyer
Guse Green Grocer opens at 46th & BryantWhen Tom and Terry Thomson, owners of the long-awaited Guse Green Grocer, put in an order for 40 pounds of organic bananas, their supplier commented that the order was too much for such a little store. When the following Monday morning rolled around, however, it seemed the supplier could eat his words. “I called him and said, ‘We only have five bananas left!’” Terry Thomson said. Located on the corner of 46th Street and Bryant Avenue, the grocery store celebrated its soft opening on Jan. 23 and 24. It didn’t have an advertising scheme or a grand event, but 400 eager customers showed up on day one and the weekend was full of positive feedback and neighborhood
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Schools notebook // Board recommends Johnson
By Dylan Thomas
School Board recommends Johnson to lead districtWhen it came time to name candidates who might replace Minneapolis Superintendent Bill Green, the School Board had only one person in mind: current Deputy Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson. School Board Chair Tom Madden, reading from a prepared statement at the Board’s Jan. 19 meeting, emphasized the importance of “stability” in a district rocked by a decade of enrollment declines, budget deficits and school closings. “The constant churn which has come to characterize Minneapolis Public Schools has taken a toll on our children, our families and our staff,” Madden said. He also said the district was “fundamentally on the right track,”
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Co-op loan drive short $100,000; deadline extended
By Jake Weyer
The Linden Hills Co-op needs $1.5 million in member loans to help pay for a move to the west side of the neighborhoodLINDEN HILLS — The Linden Hills Co-op arrived at its Jan. 31 loan-drive deadline about $100,000 short of the $1.5 million needed to help pay for a move from 43rd & Upton to the former Almsted’s Sunnyside Market site near 44th Street and France Avenue. That was close enough for Bob Olson, who owns the new site, to grant an extension for the drive and for the co-op to move forward with its plans, said spokeswoman Jeanne Lakso. “We’ll continue to collect loan agreements for at least the next two weeks and we’re fully confident we’re going to meet if not exceed our goal,” Lakso
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Kingfield unveils plans for new community gardens
By Jake Weyer
KINGFIELD — It’s hard to think about gardening in frigid February, when hoes, rakes and seeds are stowed away and snow blankets frozen plots, but green thumbs are buzzing right now in one Southwest neighborhood. Following up on years of resident interest, the Kingfield Neighborhood Association (KFNA) this spring will launch two community gardens, one on the Center for Performing Arts property at 3754 Pleasant Ave. S. and the second on another private lot at 3912 Van Nest Ave. The sites will serve as the first of four community gardens KFNA would eventually like to develop in the area. “Our goal is really to create a network of gardens and gardeners throughout the neighborhood,” said KFNA executive director Sarah
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