Highlights Of The December 19, 2007, Park Board Meeting
CROWN HYDRO
The highlight of the meeting was the vote on Crown Hydro. The motion to be voted on was, in a convoluted way, an approval of the controversial project.
Search
Navigation
Upcoming events
User login
Popular content
Crown Hydro
Park Board Rejects Crown Hydro Power Plant Study
UPDATED December 26, 2007, 11:14am
BY MARY O'REGAN
On Dec. 19, the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board (MPRB) voted not to proceed with plans to investigate the possibility of constructing Crown Hydro, a hydroelectric power plant designed to use energy from St. Anthony Falls.
Commissioners Kummer And Olson Call Mondale Nimby, Self-serving
Former Vice-president Walter Mondale wrote a letter in opposition to the proposed Crown Hydro project at St. Anthony Falls. Commissioner Carol Kummer, a project defender, dismissed Mondale as "a NIMBY" and "less than ... open-minded." Not to be outdone, Park Board President Jon Olson characterized Mondale's opinion as "so self-serving it's not even funny."
Heads Up For The December 19, 2007, Park Board Meeting
Here are a couple of highlights:
4:00 P.M. STUDY SESSION. There will be a one hour presentation on fund raising initiatives.
Crown Hydro Update
Crown Hydro, the risky and controversial project that would put the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board into the utility business, is slated to be back on the Park Board agenda at the December 19 meeting.
BACKGROUND
Mpls Park Board Takes Surprise Vote On Crown Hydro Project
On Nov. 7, 2007 the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board planning committee considered what was billed as a "study/report item" on an "updated Crown Hydro proposal." But instead of the usual report from their own staff, park commissioners heard only from the developer of the proposed hydropower plant at St. Anthony Falls. The committee's ability to study the proposal was hindered by the fact that they had no information about it until the meeting was underway. Even so, Commissioner Carol Kummer, with support from President Jon Olson, moved to advance the project with an Environmental Assessment Worksheet (EAW) and a Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC or "cack"). Other commissioners cried foul, since such actions don't usually take place on agenda items that are supposed to be for study and discussion, and because the public wasn't allowed to speak on the action. The commissioners finally did stray beyond "study/report" and took a vote to authorize a staff review of the new proposal that the developer, Crown Hydro, had only just handed them -- without taking any comment from the public. Indeed, when President Olson stated that "This project has had public input for quite a while," he should have said this project has NOT had public input for quite a while: the last time the park board allowed public comment on a Crown Hydro proposal was 2004.
Off The Table And Back On The Nov 7, Planning Committee Agenda... Crown Hydro Round 3
Hydroelectric power plant planned for neighborhood back on hold
BY MARY O'REGAN published 10-29-07 in the Downtown Journal
On Aug. 15, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) voted to table a proposal from Crown Hydro to build a hydroelectric plant that would use power from the St. Anthony Falls.
Open Letter To The Park Board And Crown Hydro
By Arlene Fried read during Open Time on 3-21-07
It is my understanding that, if Crown Hydro is allowed to build and operate a hydro-power plant that will divert water from St. Anthony Falls, there will be only a thin sheet of water--or even NO water at all--going over the Falls.
Hydro Plant Plan Churns Up Again
After the Minneapolis Park Board declined to lease land to them three years ago, investors are trying again to build a small hydroelectric plant on the west bank of St. Anthony Falls.
By Pam Louwagie, Star Tribune
Investors trying to build a second hydroelectric plant on the Mississippi's St. Anthony Falls are back, this time with a proposal they say would go almost unnoticed by tourists and residents in the revived heart of Minneapolis. Star Tribune
If this link doesn't function please copy and paste the following link into your browser http://www.startribune.com/462/story/1068627.html
Crown Hydro Deal: How Much Money Is St. Anthony Falls Worth?
In this video clip at YouTube, you can watch Park Board commissioner Walt Dziedzic state that the Crown Hydro deal is essentially selling St. Anthony Falls, and hear him ask President Jon Olson "How much is the Falls worth?"
January 17 Study Session - Crown Hydro - Documents
Attached are the agenda and the related materials for the January 17, 2007 "Study Session" of the Park Board commissioners.
Crown Hydro Has New Plan
Some observers of the vote against Crown Hydro's plan to build a hydropower plant in Mill Ruins Park may have thought that was the end of the matter. But others who have noted Crown Hydro's near perfect attendance of Park Board public meetings probably suspected otherwise.
Crown Hydro.... Round 2
During the 10-4-2006 meeting of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board ( MPRB ) Commissioner Scott Vreeland added the Crown Hydro Project to the agenda under new business. His question to the board and staff was where is the project on the MPRB radar.
Crown Hydro Owner Hosts Fundraiser For Notorious Anti-gay Congressional Candidate Michele Bachmann
WEALTHY EMINENT DOMAIN ADVOCATE HOSTS DICK CHENEY FUND-RAISER FOR MICHELE BACHMANN by Karl Bremer (Originally published in the 6/29/2006 Stillwater Gazette)
Evaluation Of The 1990 St. Anthony Falls Interpretive Plan
The St. Anthony Falls Heritage Board is a little-known organization with representatives from all levels of
Spokesman-recorder: Who's Guarding The City's Jewels?
«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?
Crown Hydro Files Suit Against Ferc
Crown Hydro is refusing to roll over and play dead after having their plans to build a hydropower plant on Park Board property voted down by Park Board commissioners, and then further getting their license to build it revoked by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Crown Hydro has now filed an appeals in the 8th Circuit Federal Court, in an attempt to reverse FERC's ruling.
Subscribe to this site's feed