Surprise! A Committee of the Whole meeting for the Park Board will take place to discuss “Priorities and Strategies” for the Park Board, according to the extremely brief agenda. It will be facilitated by one David Metzen, who is billed as a “leadership expert.” Is this the same David Metzen who is a University of Minnesota Regent?

Location: the Park Board’s website says the meeting is at the Park Board HQ building at 2117 West River Road, but the printed agenda documents mailed to interested members of the public say it is at the Carl W. Kroening Interpretive Center in the North Mississippi Regional Park.

Past experience with these “priorities” meetings is that they are usually “off site” from the HQ building, so the writer is betting on the Kroening Center as being the correct location, and assuming the Park Board staff made a mistake when they created the web page.

In a quick 35 minute meeting where much of the time was devoted to recognizing past park commissioners and past and present notables in the audience the new MPRB commissioners took the Oath of Office. This was followed by Commissioner Young’s annual history lesson. The time was used for a presentation ( with some amusing technical difficulties) on the revitalization of the downtown river front a “documentary” by South High High School students.

Seated left to right on the dais were Commissioners Nordyke, Young, Vreeland, Nordstrom, Olson, Fine, Merrill Anderson, Dziedzic and Kummer. In a unanimous vote Jon Olson was elected President and Tracy Nordstrom Vice President. Don Siggelkow was reappointed as Secretary to the Board and Brian Rice was contracted as the attorney to the board for another year.

Commissioner Nordyke was elected to serve on the Planning Commission and the President’s appointments to various boards were as follows…

Board of Estimate and Taxation… Commissioner Fine
NRP Board… Commissioner Nordyke, alt Commissioner Nordstrom
St. Anthony Falls Heritage Board Commissioners Fine and Dziedzic with Commissioner Merrill Anderson filling President Olson’s slot
Youth Coordinating Board.. Commissioner Dziedzic, alt Commissioner Merrill Anderson
Minneapolis Institute of Arts Board… Commissioner Merrill Anderson
Public Art Design Advisory Panel… Commissioner Nordstrom
Water Quality Task Force Commissioners Kummer and Nordyke
Middle Mississippi Watershed Management Organization… Commissioner Vreeland, alt Commissioner Kummer
John H. Stevens House Organization… Commissioner Vreeland
Midtown Community Works Partnership… Commissioner Nordstrom
Minneapolis Bicycle Advisory Committee… Commissioner Young
Blue Water Association … Commissioner Young, alt Commissioner Vreeland
Foundation for Minneapolis Parks… Commissioner Nordyke
Minneapolis Tree Advisory Committee… Commissioner Nordstrom
and Minnehaha Creek Visioning… Commissioner Fine

Standing Committees…

Planning
Chair Commissioner Fine
Vice Chair Commissioner Kummer
Commissioners Dziedzic, Young and Nordstrom

Administration and Finance
Chair Commissioner Merrill Anderson
Vice Chair Commissioner Nordyke
Commissioners Kummer, Vreeland and Fine

Recreation
Chair Commissioner Dziedzic
Vice Chair Commissioner Merrill Anderson
Commissioners Kummer, Vreeland and Fine

Operations and Environment
Chair Commissioner Vreeland
Vice Chair Commissioner Young
Commissioners Dziedzic, Kummer and Fine

Legislation and Inter-Governmental
Chair Commissioner Kummer
Vice Chair Commissioner Nordyke
Commissioners Nordstrom, Merrill Anderson and Fine

Committee on Standards and Conduct
Chair Commissioner Young
Commissioners Merrill Anderson and Fine

After the meeting the Commissioners and invited guests retired downstairs to the “reception” in their honor which I’m sure was just fine.

First Wednesday of the Month Regular Meeting (first one this year, first regular meeting for newly-elected commissioners).

Agenda documents can be found at this link.

Agenda includes these interesting items:

VIII. NEW BUSINESS
9.1 THAT THE BOARD RESOLVE THAT THE SUPERINTENDENT CANNOT
FILL ANY VACANT POSITIONS IN THE UNCLASSIFIED SERVIDE OR
CREATE ANY NEW POSITIONS IN THE UNCLASSIFIED SERVICE
WITHOUT FIRST RECEIVING BOARD APPROVAL TO ADD PERSONS OR
POSITIONS.
.
9.2 THAT THE BOARD AUTHORIZE STAFF TO NEGOTIATE A LEASE
AGREEMENT WITH MINNEAPOLIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS FOR THE GYM
AND RELATED SPACE AT FOUR WINDS SCHOOL AND AUTHORIZE
THE PRESIDENT AND SECRETARY TO EXECUTE THE AGREEMENT.

IV. STUDY/REPORT ITEMS
1. Veterans Memorial Park 20 minutes
o Judd Rietkerk, Planning Director
2. Northern Chinese Garden Proposal for B. F, Nelson 20 minutes
o Judd Rietkerk, Planning Director

Annual meeting where newly elected commissioners are sworn in, where the officers (president, etc.) are elected, and where the president then packs the house with all his hand-picked favorites on a myriad of committees and other city boards.

Official agenda:

ANNUAL MEETING
A G E N D A
January 3, 2006
BOARD ROOM 5:00 P.M. 2117 WEST RIVER ROAD

CALL TO ORDER
Commissioners Mary Merrill Anderson, Walt Dziedzic, Bob Fine, Carol Kummer, Tracy Nordstrom, Tom Nordyke, Scott Vreeland, Annie Young, and President Jon Olson.

OATH OF OFFICE – Administered by Former Commissioner Tom Baker

ELECTION OF OFFICERS
A. President – One-Year Term
B. Vice President – One-Year Term
C. Secretary – One-Year Term

SELECTION OF BOARD ATTORNEY – One-Year Term (General Counsel)

ELECTION OF BOARD REPRESENTATIVE(S)
A. Planning Commission – Two-Year Term

PRESIDENT’S APPOINTMENT OF BOARD REPRESENTATIVES
A. Board of Estimate and Taxation – One-Year Term
(Note: President designated by Charter, but if declines, then a selected representative.)
(Commissioner)
Don Siggelkow (Staff)

B. Neighborhood Revitalization Policy Board
(Commissioner)
(Alternate)
Mike Kimble (Staff Liaison)

C. St. Anthony Falls Heritage Board (2 Commissioner/President seats; Superintendent seat; one Citizen appointment) – One-Year Term
(Board Member)
(Board Member)
(Citizen Appointment)
(President)
(Superintendent)

D. Youth Coordinating Board – One-Year Term
(Commissioner)
Richard W. Mammen (Staff Liaison)
PRESIDENT’S APPOINTMENT OF BOARD REPRESENTATIVES (Continued)
ANNUAL MEETING PAGE 3 JANUARY 3, 2006

E. Minneapolis Institute of Arts Board – One-Year Term
(Commissioner)
Diane Moe (Staff Liaison)

F. Public Art Design Advisory Panel – One-Year Term
(Commissioner)
Diane Moe (Staff Liaison)

G. Water Quality Task Force – One-Year Term
(Commissioner)
(Commissioner)
Deb Pilger (Staff Liaison)

H. Middle Mississippi Watershed Management Organization – One-Year Term
(Commissioner)
(Commissioner – Alternate)
Nick Eoloff (Staff Liaison)

I. John H. Stevens House Organization – One-Year Term
(Commissioner)
Eileen Kilpatrick (Staff Liaison)

J. Midtown Community Works Partnership – One-Year Term
(Commissioner)
Lonnie Nicols (Staff Liaison)
PRESIDENT’S APPOINTMENT OF BOARD REPRESENTATIVES (Continued) ANNUAL MEETING PAGE 4 JANUARY 3, 2006

K. Minneapolis Bicycle Advisory Committee – One-Year Term
(Commissioner)
Jennifer Ringold (Staff Liaison)

L. Blue Water Association – One-Year Term
(One Commissioner Appointment, one Commissioner Alternate, one staff representative.)
(Commissioner)
(Commissioner – Alternate)
Eileen Kilpatrick or designee (Staff Representative)

M. Foundation for Minneapolis Parks – One-Year Term
(Commissioner)
William Engfer (Staff Liaison)

N. Minneapolis Tree Advisory Committee – One-Year Term
(Commissioner)
Ralph Sievert, Jr. (Staff Liaison)

O. Minnehaha Creek Visioning – One-Year Term
(Commissioner)
Tim Brown (Staff Liaison)

ANNUAL MEETING PAGE 5 JANUARY 3, 2006
PRESIDENT’S APPOINTMENT OF STANDING COMMITTEES

A. Administration and Finance
, Chair
Meeting: Day 1st and 3rd Wednesday Time

B. Recreation
, Chair
Meeting: Day 3rd Wednesday Time

C. Planning
, Chair
Meeting: Day 1st Wednesday Time

D. Operations and Environment
, Chair
Meeting: Day 3rd Wednesday Time

E. Legislation and Inter-Governmental
, Chair
Meeting: (When called by Chair)

F. Committee on Standards and Conduct
, Chair
Meeting: (When called by Chair)

ADJOURNMENT