ADVERTISING IN THE PARKS--CONTINUED
The following item by Chris Steller appeared in the June 26, 2008, on-line issue of The Minnesota Independent, found at www.minnesotaindependent.com/view/illegal-pipes-not.
Qwest posted an ad on Minneapolis parkland during the Stone Arch Festival of the Arts June 14-15By Chris Steller, Jun 17 2008
Minneapolis city officials say there are sure to be more illegal hookups to the storm sewer system like the one that for decades drained water from the Minikahda Club swimming pool into Lake Calhoun as reported by the Minnesota Independent. The city’s chief inspector for utility connections, Bradley Blackhawk, doesn’t know where but “there’s more out there,” he told the Southwest Journal. A Minnesota Pollution Control Agency investigation is pending. An MPCA spokesperson speculated that a fine against the private club is likely, and the City of Minneapolis may also take action.
Meanwhile, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board caught flak for the banners promoting Lowe’s hardware chain that commissioners approved June 4, the Journal’s Cristof Traudes also reports. Lowe’s banners will hang in Loring Park and at the Parade Ice Garden from July through December. Park commissioners should “ask Lowe’s to make a donation to the Minneapolis Parks Foundation, or negotiate for a plaque inside the park building — something a little more philanthropic and a lot less commercial,” suggested Dan Woychick, East Harriet representative on the park board’s Lakes District Council, who has previously sought specifics on the park board’s fundraising goals. Said MPRB General Manager Don Siggelkow: “No one likes the Lowe’s sign, but you don’t get the money without the sign.”
On June 18, the board’s Standards and Conduct Committee begins what staff envisions as a nine-month process to set a policy of sponsorships and naming rights. The board will hold three study sessions on the topic and get an appraisal from Intemark, a locally based marketing firm, on the value of its programs and facilities to corporate and individual donors wishing to name or sponsor something.
Intemark brokered a lucrative sponsorship package for Toyota with the St. Paul and Minneapolis parks, but the MPRB handled the Lowe’s deal and the naming of Jim Lupient Water Park itself, without knowing their market value to sponsors. A Red Bull-sponsored photo exhibit will put 25 eight-foot cubes down the center of the Stone Arch Bridge July 10–20; a Minneapolis park staff person has not responded to messages from the Minnesota Monitor requesting information about that sponsorship.