Monthly Archives: January 2012

Heads-Up for the February 1, 2012 Park Board Meeting

HEADS-UP FOR THE FEBRUARY 1, 2012 PARK BOARD MEETING

5:00 P.M. REGULAR BOARD MEETING. The meeting will be held in the boardroom at Park Board headquarters, 2117 West River Road, just north of Broadway Pizza.

5:30 P.M. OPEN TIME. Speakers need to sign up before 3:00 p.m. the day of the meeting.

Some items of interest are:

–Asian Carp: a New Urgency

–Lease Agreement with Minneapolis Swims

–An amendment to the Nicollet Island Inn Lease Agreement

The complete agenda, with staff reports, for the MPRB Board of Commissioners’ meeting on Wednesday, February 1, 2012 is at http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=37&calid=852

Also of interest and now available to the commissioners and the public are the monthly reports that Superintendent Miller has initiated for construction permits and for Planning Department projects.

The availability of these reports is one of the important changes instituted by Superintendent Miller. Look for the links to these reports under Petitions and Communications in the agenda for the first Regular Meeting of the month.

MPRB meetings are telecast live from 5-9 p.m. on the City of Minneapolis Government Meeting Channel 79 on Comcast cable and online at http://www.minneapolismn.gov/webcasts.

The regular meetings are retelecast on Channel 79 at 1 p.m. Saturdays and 5 p.m. on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month. Webcasts for the recent two months are posted two to five business days after the meeting and are available for viewing under “Webcast Archives” at http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=900

The Park Board’s website is http://www.minneapolisparks.org. The phone number is 612-230-6400.

Arlene Fried

Co-founder of Park Watch

Crown Hydro Takes New Approach to St. Anthony Project

The following article by Nick Halter (updated January 25, 2012) was published in the Downtown Journal.

CROWN HYDRO TAKES NEW APPROACH TO ST. ANTHONY PROJECT

After 13 years spent wrangling with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board to get approval to build a hydroelectric facility below parkland neat the Minneapolis Mill District, Crown Hydro is now working on a plan to build below U.S. Army Corps of Engineers land just downstream.

Crown Hydro in October met with the Corps of Engineers to discuss a proposal that would allow the company to build intake valves near the St. Anthony Falls lock wall, according to documents filed to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Jan. 20. Crown says the proposal would not require the approval of the Park Board, which has fought tooth and nail against the project.

Those documents were sent to FERC in order to convince the commission that the project is still making progress. FERC has threatened to revoke Crown Hydro’s license if the project doesn’t show progress. FERC granted Crown Hydro a license in 1999.

Crown Hydro wants to build a 3.2-megawatt hydroelectric facility on the west bank of the Mississippi River, just above St. Anthony Falls. The private company had been trying to get authorization from the Park Board to construct the underground facility, but negotiations fell apart in May.

The Army Corps of Engineers has not agreed to the project, but it has provided some feedback to Crown Hydro for a potential deal.

The Army Corps of Engineers, in written comments to Crown, expressed concerns over the stability of a 55-year-old gravity wall where Crown’s new proposal would be located.

“Information on this wall is limited, and the Corps has concerns about its stability,” wrote Nanette Bischoff of the Corps of Engineers.

The Corps also raised concerns about the availability of water flows at St. Anthony to keep Crown Hydro turbines running. Xcel Energy wants to expand its power generation at an existing hydroelectric facility across the river. Water above the falls is also used to fill the lock and dam chamber and for Minneapolis drinking water.

On top of that, residents have lashed out over the possibility of diverting water from St. Anthony Falls, a tourist attraction when water is churning over the spillway.

“Because many entities are vying for the available water resources in the upper pool, we question how much power Crown Hydro can generate, based on historic flows,” Bischoff wrote.

In its letter to FERC, Crown Hydro said it will seek an amendment to its license to allow for a license amendment in order to move forward with the new plan.

(Comment: Park Watch has heard that this proposal involves the tail races and, if so, there could be no construction without Park Board approval.)

Brownie Lake C A C Meeting 1/31/12

The following notice has been issued by the Park Board:

BROWNIE LAKE CAC MEETING 1/31/12

The fourth meeting of the Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) for the Brownie Lake Area Plan will be held January 31, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Kenwood Community Center, 2101 W Franklin Ave. Using comments, ideas, and suggestions gathered from discussions about the three concept plan alterntives presented at the January 17 Open House, SRF Consulting has developed a preferred option. This will be presented at the CAC meeting, and the CAC will prepare its recommendations to the Board of Commissioners.

All are welcome to attend; time will be set aside for comments and questions from the public.

The public will also have an opportunity to review the preferred option at the Open House February 14. This will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., also at the Kenwood Community Center.

For additional information about the plan and the planning process, visit the project webpage: http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=1296

Park Board Eyeing More Land Along Upper Riverfront

The following article by Nick Halter was published in the January 23, 2012 issue of the Southwest Journal:

PARK BOARD EYEING MORE LAND ALONG UPPER RIVERFRONT

Minneapolis Park Board members are giving staff more tools to acquire land along the river north of downtown, including money and bargaining directives.

On Jan. 4, the Park Board approved a measure that allows staff to enter into non-binding letters of intent with property owners. Attorney Brian Rice told commissioners that there have been properties on the market but staff needs a strategy for acquiring them.

“In your last two budgets, you’ve appropriated funds to do land acquisitions, particularly in the Above the Falls master plan,” he said. “There have been some properties that are on the market or could become on the market.”

Rice was alluding to $1 million the Park Board has budgeted for riverfront development in 2012. The board also plans to continue setting aside $1 million annually through 2015.

Jennifer Ringold, who is in charge of citywide planning for the Park Board, said in mid-January that no real estate deal was in place.

The Park Board has ambitious plans for the upper riverfront north of Plymouth Avenue that includes adding more parks and trails to the area.

Staff has applied for a $1 million grant from the federal Transportation Enhancement Program to build bike and pedestrian trails on the east side of the river. In February, the Met Council will release its rankings for which metro projects will get priority when funding becomes available.

Plans for that potential trail between Plymouth Avenue and the Burlington Northern Railroad bridge would require the Park Board to acquire some land, though much of it is already owned by the Park Board or has been made available through private owners granting easements, Ringold said.

If Park Board staff draws up a preliminary purchase agreement, it would need six of nine Park Board commissioners to approve of a land purchase.

Update on the Brownie Lake Project

The following update was posted on the Bryn Mawr Neighborhood Association’s website:

UPDATE ON THE BROWNIE LAKE PROJECT

Curious about the improvements planned for Brownie Lake – aimed at trail safety and natural resource protection? Read on…..

Keeping you in the loop:

Follow the project: http://www.minneapolisparks.org/brownielake

View the proposed Brownie Lake concepts posted here (and online)

Tell us what you like, and share, your concerns about the concepts at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/brownielakecomment

Attend the next meeting. The next Community Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting is on Tuesday 1/31 to select the preferred concept. The public is welcome! Kenwood Community Center, from 6:30-8:30pm.

View the preferred concept for Brownie Lake at the Open House on 2/14. Kenwood Community Center, from 6:30-8:30pm.

WHAT IS THE BROWNIE LAKE PROJECT??

From the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Website:

Brownie Lake is a lovely, secluded water body surrounded by steep wooded slopes, located at the north end of the Chain of Lakes. This natural area is enjoyed by hikers, bicyclists, canoeists, skiers, and an occasional fisherperson.

An Area Plan for Brownie Lake and its environs will be created through the joint efforts of the MPRB, SRF Consulting Inc., and an appointed Community Advisory Committee (CAC). The plan will address a variety of concerns, including:

The section of the Cedar Lake Parkway bike trail that runs along the east rim above Brownie Lake is a key link in a network of regional trails and receives over 370,000 visits per year. Built in 1976 as a combined-use trail, its six-foot width does not meet minimum Grand Rounds standards.

Closer to the lake itself, a proliferation over the last decade of unplanned paths are contributing to erosion that, along with invasive species such as buckthorn and unmanaged stormwater runoff, pose a threat to the lake’s character as well as its water quality.

Access into the basin from the rim.

Replacement of the lift station on the east side of the lake.

Construction is expected to begin sometime in the late summer or fall of 2012 and be complete in 2013. The schedule, however, as well as the project scope, is somewhat dependent on the passage of the federal Transportation Enhancement Act, anticipated in the spring of 2012.

Heads-Up for the January 25, 2012 M P R B Committee of the Whole Meeting

HEADS UP FOR THE JANUARY 25, 2012 MPRB COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING

The meeting, which will not be televised, is open to the public. It will be held at Park Board headquarters, 2117 West River Road, next to Broadway Pizza. It will be in the Minnehaha Room next to the Board Room and will begin at 5:00 pm.

At the Committee of the Whole Meeting, there will be no voting. The study/report topic will be:

1. Environmental/Organizational Analysis: Interim Analysis and Initial Strategy Recommendations.

The complete agenda can be viewed at: http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=37&calid=850

The Park Board’s website is http://www.minneapolisparks.org. The phone number is 612-230-6400.

Arlene Fried

Co-Founder of Park Watch

Swimming Dock Success Means Expansion to Cedar, Nokomis

The following item by Nick Halter was published in a recent issue of the Southwest Journal:

SWIMMING DOCK SUCCESS MEANS EXPANSION TO CEDAR, NOKOMIS

After much fanfare last summer at the new swimming docks at lakes Calhoun, Harriet and Nokomis, the Park Board has allocated more money in its 2012 budget to add two more docks.

Park Board President John Erwin said park users can expect a swimming dock at Cedar Lake as well as a second dock at Lake Nokomis next summer.

The docks cost about $7,000 each. The Park Board voted to add the Nokomis dock at a budget mark-up session Dec. 7. The Cedar Lake dock was not added in that mark-up, but Erwin said he’s certain it will be funded in time for the 2012 beach season.

It's Official: Dog Park Coming to Lyndale Farmstead

The following item by Nick Halter was published in a recent issue of the Southwest Journal:

IT’S OFFICIAL: DOG PARK COMING TO LYNDALE FARMSTEAD

The Park Board, on an 8-0 vote, approved Lyndale Farmstead Park’s Southside Operations Center parking lot to be the site of a dog park.

That site will require the Park Board to tear up a parking lot and find a new place to keep equipment.

Only Commissioner Annie Young (at-large) did not vote for the site. She abstained from voting after airing concerns over the cost of the site and parking.

If plans go accordingly, work will begin on the site this summer.

Park Board Approves Contract for Parade Park Music Festival

The following item by Nick Halter was published in a recent issue of the Southwest Journal:

PARK BOARD APPROVES CONTRACT FOR PARADE PARK MUSIC FESTIVAL

First Avenue will hold an outdoor music festival at Parade Park on the weekend of July 21-22.

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board on Dec. 7 approved a five-year contract with the music venue so that it can hold a two-day festival.

Under the proposed contract, the Park Board will get $2 from every ticket sold in 2012 plus 15 percent of gross beverage and food sales. First Avenue will progressively have to pay more to the Park Board for admissions each year, and by 2016 the Park Board will get $3.25 per head.

Dayna Frank, First Avenue’s executive vice president, said in late November that the club hasn’t decided if the festival will be Friday and Saturday or Saturday and Sunday.

Parade Park is just west of downtown, north of the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden and south of the Dunwoody College of Technology.

Heads-Up for the January 18, 2012 Park Board Meeting

HEADS-UP FOR THE JANUARY 18, 2012 PARK BOARD MEETING

5:00 P.M. REGULAR BOARD MEETING. The meeting will be held in the boardroom at Park Board headquarters, 2117 West River Road, just north of Broadway Pizza.

5:30 P.M. OPEN TIME. Speakers need to sign up before 3:00 p.m. the day of the meeting.

The complete agenda, with staff reports, for the MPRB Board of Commissioners’ meeting on Wednesday, January 18, 2012 is at http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=37&calid=847

MPRB meetings are telecast live from 5-9 p.m. on the City of Minneapolis Government Meeting Channel 79 on Comcast cable and online at http://www.minneapolismn.gov/webcasts.

The regular meetings are retelecast on Channel 79 at 1 p.m. Saturdays and 5 p.m. on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month. Webcasts for the recent two months are posted two to five business days after the meeting and are available for viewing under “Webcast Archives” at http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=900

The Park Board’s website is http://www.minneapolisparks.org. The phone number is 612-230-6400.

Arlene Fried

Co-founder of Park Watch