West Bank Community Coalition (WBCC)
NRP STEERING COMMITTEE
The WBCC’s NRP Steering Committee is taking steps to become incorporated as a separate nonprofit organization on March 31. As such, it would contract directly with NRP to handle the WBCC’s finances — a unique scenario among the city’s neighborhood groups that has garnered intense reactions from some WBCC board members.
During the meeting, board members raised questions about a possible new organization’s role and structure, including its accountability to the community. The NRP process is supposed to be democratic. Even so, “if the new entity is democratically accountable to the neighborhood, it could create a competing organization that would further fragment the community,” according to WBCC information.
Additionally, it is unclear what prompted the steering committee to act without first consulting the WBCC, which is currently in charge of its administration, board members say. Prior to this, NRP staffer Robert Thompson had notified the WBCC that the NRP office wouldn’t grant the group full control over funding. Board members have taken issue with that, although they acknowledge that the WBCC is hampered by its lack of a paid staff and budget.
On Oct. 17, the board had approved a motion directing its Executive Committee to work with the NRP steering committee to reach a mutual agreement about how to deal with those limitations. Among its proposed solutions, board members discussed securing sufficient power from the NRP office; contracting the steering committee to coordinate with NRP; and arranging for the NRP office to disburse funds to WBCC initiatives.
At the Jan. 16 meeting, board members approved a motion instructing newly elected WBCC president Laura Silver to write a letter to the NRP Policy Board and others that expresses the board’s response to this whole ordeal.
In general, board members feel that the correspondence they have received from the NRP office regarding its ability to handle NRP dollars was “inaccurate and is an unfair and arbitrary critique of how the WBCC functions,” Silver said via e-mail.
BOARD ELECTIONS
New officer positions were elected. They include the following: Laura Silver, president, Abdirizak Abdi, vice president, Jennifer Moates, re-elected secretary, and Jean-Lawrence Caron, treasurer.
2008 BUDGET
The WBCC’s 2008 budget was approved.
UNIVERSITY DISTRICT PARTNERSHIP ALLIANCE
Laura Silver was appointed to the University District Partnership Alliance steering committee alongside Doris Wickstrom. The partnership is an effort to maintain the neighborhoods located near the U of M campus.
COMMITTEE OPENINGS
The WBCC seeks to fill two committee openings, including a vacancy on the Central Corridor Community Advisory Committee and a spot on the District Collaborative Council (also dealing with the development of the Central Corridor light rail system). The committees are open to any community member. If interested, contact the WBCC at 338-5282, ext. 224 or e-mail cedarriversidenrp@hotmail.com.
CITY COUNCIL MEMBER REPORT
Ward Two Councilmember Cam Gordon summarized recent goings-on at City Hall. Among the topics he touched on, Gordon pointed to the City Council’s adoption this month of a youth violence prevention plan. Last year Gordon brought forward a resolution to the Council, indicating that youth violence constitutes a community-wide health problem. That spurred plenty of research, meetings and other work, which has culminated in a report and plan entitled “Blueprint for Action: Preventing Youth Violence in Minneapolis.” It makes key recommendations for a holistic approach to alleviating this citywide problem, he said.
Gordon also talked about other recent accomplishments, such as the progress being made on establishing a framework for NRP’s future, which he said promises to be based on neighborhood groups; the Cedar-Riverside Small Area Plan to create a vision for the area; and the University District Partnership Alliance for which the 2007 state legislature set aside money for the upkeep of neighborhoods surrounding the U of M.
NEXT MEETING: Wed., Feb. 20
MEETINGS: Third Wednesday of the month Brian Coyle Community Center, 420 15th Ave. S.
CONTACT: 612-338-5282, ext. 224 or www.westbankcc.org
EMAIL: cedarriversidenrp@hotmail.com or nrp@westbankcc.org
BORDERS: The neighborhood is bounded by I-35W on the northwest, I-94 on the south and the Mississippi River on the northeast.
last revised: January 27, 2008