Yacht Club Facility
As a result of citizen pressure, the Board voted at the March 4, 2009, meeting on an expanded CAC charge:
THE CAC CHARGE IS TO REVIEW AND DISCUSS THE SCOPE OF CONCESSION OPPORTUNITIES; THE GENERAL ATMOSPHERE OF THE BAND SHELL; TO REVIEW A SCHEMATIC DESIGN AND SITE FOR A POTENTIAL AUXILIARY CONCESSION OR OTHER STRUCTURE; AND PRESENT A REPORT WITH RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE BOARD.
The following item appeared March 10 on the Star Tribune's editorial pages as the letter-of-the-day:
Regarding the March 5 article "Windsurfers fear losing easy access to Lake Calhoun": I have watched the windsurfers on Calhoun for the past 25 years. Their beauty and excitement entertain from April through November. It would be sad to push out this little bit of Hawaii from the lake with an ill-conceived reconstruction project.
- Jan Lane, Minneapolis
The StarTribune is reporting that Twin Cities windsurfers may find their access to Lake Calhoun in jeopardy due to development plans the Park Board wants to pursue. The area used by windsurfers to prepare and launch might become too small for such use if planned parking lot modifcations are made.
There will be a 20 minute Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board study session on the CALHOUN MASTER PLAN UPDATE beginning at 4:00 p.m. in the Minnehaha Room on the second floor of the MPRB Headquarters Building at 2117 W. River Road prior to the regular Board meeting this Wednesday. This meeting is open to the public.
Also on the study session agenda will be the Grand Rounds Missing Link and Net Debt Bonding from State.
The Superintendent's Review Committee will meet at 7:15 p.m. for a review of RECOMMENDED TERMS FOR THE SUPERINTENDENT'S NEW CONTRACT. This meeting will be in the Board room and also is open to the public. The regular MPRB meeting will be at 5:00 p.m.
If you have any questions, you can call the Park Board at 230-6400.
From the Linden Hills Neighborhood Council (LHiNC) web site:
For anyone who cares about the green space & privatization of our park system, on Tuesday, Dec. 6th, 7 P.M. at 43rd and Xerxes (Park Bldg), the Linden Hills neighborhood will have Park Commissioners - Bob Fine, Annie Young, M. Anderson, Tom Nordyke presenting a Lake Calhoun Development proposal for the south shore. Both Linden Hills and ECCO read a resolution to the Park Board on June 15, 2005 opposing any building on this pristine shore.
In an October 28 Star Tribune Commentary, Charles A. Birnbaum, founder and president of the Cultural Landscape Foundation in Washington, D.C., writes about how the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board is considering privatizing, selling off and even giving away precious Minneapolis public park property:
«What do you think of when you think about parks? Children at play? Summer League teams locked in a little friendly competition? A stroll around the lakes? A family picnic?
The Sept./Oct. issue of Preservation magazine from the National Trust for Historic Preservation has an essay called "In Defense of Open Spaces." Some excerpts:
» At the Tin Fish restaurant on Lake Calhoun, the food is made to order, the dress code is non-existent and the lines are usually long. But all that extra business had added more congestion to an already cramped space, shared by the sailing school next door. «
By Scott Russell
»A sailing village proposed for Lake Calhoun's south end is being scaled back, said Jon Gurban, superintendent of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.
It is expected that the Park Board will be either considering or acting on a proposal for a building on the south shore (across from the archery range) of Lake Calhoun at either the June 1 or June 15 Park Board meeting.
by Elaine Klaassen
Anyone who has been to the South Dakota Badlands and Black Hills realizes that it's one of the most beautiful areas in the country. Anyone who has been there also has noted that it's horribly commercialized, from signs in the roadways to cheap souvenir stands to fees just for driving down the highway. You leave the area with two thoughts: one, this is a special place, and two, it didn't take us long to ruin it.
From the official East Calhoun Community Organization (ECCO) Minutes for December 2004:
Proposed Calhoun Yacht Club Site--Bob Fine of the Park Board described a proposed plan for moving the Calhoun Yacht Club room to a facility proposed for the Southeast end of Lake Calhoun. He came to hear comments by ECCO. The Yacht Club claims the current boat ramp area is too congested for them and there's not enough parking available. They want a building for giving sailing instruction. Bob Fine says that the Yacht Club has met with Commissioner Mason and the Park Board Staff. The Yacht Club gave a presentation to the Park board.
5:00pm
** Legal Review Committee hearing from Counselor Brian Rice. In theory, he would inform the commissioners about just what it is he does for the Park Board that justifies spending around $400,000 a year, year after year, with his small law firm. While his letter to commissioner Bob Fine provides a bit more detail than his oral presentation, there was very little detail, except in the history of the relationship. Rice has worked for the Park Board for about 20 years, initially while working for another large law firm, and then starting in May, 2000 for his own firm. Interestingly, he mentions a couple of times the hugely expensive litigation involved in the Neiman Sports Complex at Ft. Snelling [the $16 million plus white elephant], without actually putting a price tag on that particular litigation. Rice also mentions twice working directly with commissioner Walt Dziedzic, which stood out as very peculiar in his presentation.
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