News from Cam Gordon
Council Member, Second Ward
September 2008
http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/council/ward2/
http://secondward.blogspot.com

2009 Budget. Mayor Rybak has presented his proposed 2009 budget to the Council. Go here to see it for yourself: http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/city-budget/2009recommended/index.asp. I’m thrilled about some of the priorities he has set forth:

Welcome new investments in infrastructure. RT is proposing $27.5 million in new transportation infrastructure spending, enough to repave or repair more than one third of all the heavily-traveled streets and parkways maintained by the City of Minneapolis. This includes $910,000 for disentangling the intersections of Cedar, Minnehaha, 20th Ave S and E Franklin, $2.1 million for the Hiawatha Bike Trail lighting and extension project in 2013, and $2.2 million for the U of M bike trail from Bridge 9 to the Transitway through Dinkytown. It also includes the first-ever dedicated bike infrastructure maintenance budget line, which will invest $100,000 per year into keeping our off-street trails and on-street lanes in good condition.

Continued attention to preventing youth violence. The budget includes $75,000 in one time funding for implementing our Youth Violence Prevention Action Plan. The Mayor also recommends spending $150,000 on continuing the Youth are Here buses.

A smaller than expected property tax increase. For the past few years, Minneapolis property owners have faced levy increases of 8% per year. This has been quite a burden, especially to people on fixed and limited incomes. This year’s proposed levy increase is 6.9%, still not as low as we would like but a step in the right direction.

The 2009 budget will be adopted in December. 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.

RNC. There have been reports of multiple incidents related to the RNC in which journalists and citizens with cameras have been detained, arrested, and had their possessions confiscated by law enforcement. At least three of these incidents occurred in the week preceding the RNC, and many more happened during protests in both St. Paul and Minneapolis. I am disappointed that the Police Policies Resolution passed unanimously by the Council in July, which contains explicit prohibitions against confiscating recording devices, seems to have had so little effect in some instances. I am also very concerned about the ‘collateral damage’ suffered by nonviolent protesters and bystanders due to police uses of force. I have expressed serious concerns about the preemptive raids of Minneapolis houses (including one in the Second Ward) and the seizure of an educational bus (Permibus) the weekend before the convention. With Council Member Gary Schiff, I am calling for a public hearing and full investigation into law enforcement actions both before and during the convention. You can read more of my responses to specific incidents at my blog here: http://secondward.blogspot.com.

Pedestrian Master Plan Open House. The City will be hosting a second public meeting to share results and seek input on the Minneapolis Citywide Pedestrian Master Plan on Thursday, September 18, 5:30-8:30pm, Minneapolis Central Library, 300 Nicollet Mall. More information is available at http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/pedestrian/pedestrian-masterplan.asp.

Pedicabs. With my strong support, the Council has loosened the regulations on Pedicabs, making it easier and cheaper for new companies to get through our regulatory hurdles, and removing the space and time limitations that have effectively regulated them out of existence until now. I look forward to seeing the growth of this unique, green industry in Minneapolis.

NRP. We are making progress towards securing a neighborhood revitalization program for the future and I am more hopeful than ever that empowered neighborhood-based planning will be a more lasting part of our City, even after Phase 2 of NRP. I am also reasonably sure that it will be different than the current program. Last month, the NRP Framework for the Future work group gave its final report. The Mayor’s five year budget proposal recommends significant spending on neighborhood organizations and supports discretionary funding. 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 per year to neighborhood organizations to support administrative work. There is also an emerging consensus, made possible by the Legislature’s decision to enable us to continue funding it into the future, that there will be additional discretionary funding for neighborhood priorities. It looks like there will be between 5 and 10 million dollars a year, starting in 2012, that will be committed to neighborhood discretionary spending to implement approved plans. One of the more interesting documents to come forward is an alternative proposed by a group of residents known as “neighors4NRP.” The proposal makes several concrete recommendations that are certainly worth considering that I have been reviewing carefully. I plan to focus efforts on clarifying and strengthening the authority of the new resident board or commission and exploring how to keep other jurisdictions involved in it. I will also be fighting for at least 10 millions dollars per year to be available for neighborhood-based projects and to have the 3 million in neighborhood group administrative support come from the general fund.

University District Rezoning Study and Moratorium. Last week I got Council approval for a development moratorium in the University District neighborhoods (Marcy Holmes, Prospect Park, Southeast Como and Cedar Riverside). The moratorium prohibits demolition of single family homes, duplexes and triplexes, and also bars new construction of 1-4 unit residential developments. However, projects that wish to be exempted from the moratorium may apply to the City’s Zoning and Planning Committee. The purpose of the moratorium is to give City Planning staff the space to work with the University District Partnership Alliance and the neighborhoods on a study to address land use and development concerns in the University district, including parking, occupancy, design standards, zoning, inspections and the development review process. The moratorium will ensure that property owners do not make major changes while the study is being completed.

Solar on Convention Center. The proposed 600kW solar installation on the Convention Center has been sent back to committee for further work. I hope that this move does not prevent us from moving forward on this groundbreaking project, and does not imperil the grant we received from the Public Utilities Commission.

Pre-Employment Drug Testing. I continued to have concerns about the drug testing regime brought forward by Human Resources staff, which was so broad that it covered people who empty our parking meters. I was joined in voting against this policy by Council Members Benson, Goodman and Remington.

Washington Ave Bridge Construction. Due to concerns about the strength of the upper pedestrian and bicycle deck of the Washington Avenue bridge, Hennepin County has closed all but the ‘breezeway,’ the sheltered semi-indoor space at the center of the bridge. With the high ped/bike volumes on the bridge, it will be fairly congested until construction is completed. I have been assured by Commissioner McLaughlin’s office that they are striving to get this work done as soon as possible next spring or early summer. While the U is looking into possibilities for keeping a bike facility on the bridge, it may be helpful for as many cyclists as possible to use Bridge 9 to get from the East Bank to the West Bank.

Soliciting by City Employees. I was not able to support a move to allow City employees to solicit for charities while on the job that came through the Council this month. I believe that this is a problematic precedent to set, and could lead to either real or perceived conflicts of interest and favoritism in the provision of City services. I was able to ensure that the language of this new ordinance clearly required that City employees abide by the Aggressive Solicitation ordinance passed last year, which prohibits, among other things, verbal requests for money by two or more people. Though I did not support the Aggressive Solicitation ordinance, I believe it is important that we hold City employees to the same standard as everyone else.

Remanufactured Toner Cartriges. My office will be conducting a pilot project for the use of remanufactured printer toner cartridges, with the hope that we can use them citywide, saving the City money and preventing waste.

Cuernavaca Sister City. The City of Minneapolis has passed a resolution accepting an invitation to join in a Sister City Agreement with Cuernavaca, Mexico.

Curfew Reminder. Curfew is an important tool for preventing youth violence, and ensuring that children get the sleep they need to do well in school. Make sure your kids are in by the following times: Under age 12, home by 9pm weekdays, 10pm Friday & Saturday. Ages 12 to 14, home by 10pm weekdays, 11pm Friday & Saturday. Ages 15 to 17, home by 11pm weekdays, midnight Friday & Saturday.

Central Corridor. The City has submitted our comments to the Central Corridor’s Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement. We expect the Met Council to submit the application for federal funding in early September, as planned. The City is very engaged in conversations about the layout of the Washington Ave transit/pedestrian mall. Our goal is to maximize pedestrian space, ensure that buses and trains can operate effectively on the mall, and provide a predictable space in which bicyclists can operate.

Historic Preservation in Prospect Park. Last week, I moved to nominate the Prospect Park neighborhood for local historic designation. The City’s Planning staff have been directed to bring this nomination forward to the City’s Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC) by September 16. If the HPC approves the nomination, the neighborhood will be granted interim historic protection, which will stay in place until a final decision by the neighborhood and the City’s Planning Department about whether to put in place the historic district, what the boundaries will be, and what specific protections will be included. Interim protections will cover all external alterations to buildings and accessory structures (like garages). This includes demolitions, additions, renovations and other improvements to properties are considered to be contributing properties to the district.

Campus Crossroads. Opus development company has applied for a rezoning from to C3A, a conditional use permit for 177 dwelling units, another conditional use permit to increase the maximum permitted height to 9 stories (95 feet), a variance to reduce the total requried commercial parking stalls from 46 to 0, a variance to increase the maximum retail space size from 8,000 to 14,000 square feet, and several other variances for the Campus Crossroads project. This project is supported by the Prospect Park East River Road Improvement Association.

Openings on Boards and Commissions. There are openings on the Civilian Police Review Authority (closes 9/12/08). To apply, call (612) 673-3358 or email cityclerk@ci.minneapolis.mn.us.

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
cam@camgordon.org
http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/council/ward2/
http://secondward.blogspot.com

last revised: September 5, 2008

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