Elise Morton’s Reflections on the 12/17 Mpls. Park Board Meeting

The following letter to Commissioner John Erwin dated December 22, 2014 is from Longfellow Resident Elise Morton and was later posted on http://forums.e-democracy.org/groups/mpls/messages/topics.html  The MPRB meeting agenda subject being discussed at the meeting and referred to here was the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City and the Park Board and Bird Safe Glass.

Commissioner Erwin,

Thank you for your comments. It’s over now so there is not much use in going through all this, but your statements seem contradictory to me.

1. The city, Ryan, and the Vikings may have continued to construct their facilities, but it would have been illegally (4.)

2. The Park Board did refuse to accept and protect the green space, and its wildlife.

3. The Park Board did undermine its authority in the charter by refusing to manage and operate the park.

4. The Park Board would have done this because of 1, which is why it would have been in the City’s, Ryan’s, and the MSFA’s interests to negotiate on your terms.

5. The Park Board did give up leverage on park design.

If you have no control over the stadium, how is it that City Council does?

Your questions to Counsel seemed to me, to be constructed in a way to get the answers you wanted, and avoid the answers you didn’t.

I understand that this mess was not created by the Park Board and that it feels unfair to you that the public comes running to you to clean it up. However, this is what we have to do sometimes. That being said, I think the majority of people appreciated the conflict you were facing, and the risks, which seemed to me to be significant.

Furthermore, if it’s all City Council and the Governor, why didn’t you go to them? Is it because you feel like Olson who shouted at us “it’s not my problem!”? Which is perhaps also why he did not even feel it was worth his time to sit in the room during Open Time. !!?? What is he doing on the Park Board?

I am sorry that you were all put in this crappy situation. Really. But yes, what will you do, what is in your power to do, moving forward?