Author Archives: citoyen1789

Committee of the Whole Agenda Posted

John Goodrich of MPRB announced yesterday that the Agenda for Monday’s Committee of the Whole meeting is available.  See the link below.

The Agenda for the Monday January 23, 2017 MPRB Committee of the Whole Meeting is now online at:

http://minneapolisparksmn.iqm2.com

John Goodrich
Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board
2117 West River Rd. N.
Minneapolis, MN  55411
612-230-6400

Letter to Lileks: Height Restrictions and Lake Calhoun

The following letter was emailed on January 1, 2017 to James Lileks regarding his December 31st column in the Star Tribune.

James,

Regarding your recent article “The Right Place to go Tall” regarding height around Lake Calhoun, it is not so simple.  And you are wrong about it being the neighbors who were responsible.  The passing of the Shoreland Height Ordinance was a citywide effort. I know because I was a board member of one of the two citizens’ groups that was instrumental in getting the ordinance passed.

I lived in Bryn Mawr but like many residents of Minneapolis, I felt a responsibility to preserve our natural resources from being exploited.  When a 24 story tower was proposed on the CBC’s property across from Lake Calhoun, the residents of Minneapolis revolted.  We did not want the profit motive converting Lake Calhoun into another Miami or Chicago with a ring of high rises dominating the lake.  We wanted to protect nature and all the wildlife that made Calhoun its home.

It took two years and two lawsuits to get the Shoreland Height Ordinance passed.  It was a huge accomplishment and I have two volumes of articles to prove it.  Barbara Flanagan was a supporter.  Linda Mack was a supporter.  Barbara Carlson was a supporter and, as a city council member, one of the reasons it was able to get the city’s support.

I am writing you because it is painful to see you so casually trivialize a major successful citizen effort.

Arlene Fried
A Founding Member of ELECT–Emergency Lakes Environmental Coalition Task Force

The original Shoreland Height Ordinance was passed on May 13, 1988 and published  in Finance and Commerce on that date. Don Fraser was Mayor and Alice Rainville was council president.

Heads-Up for the December 21, 2016 Park Board Meeting

5:00 P.M.  REGULAR BOARD MEETING.  The meeting will be held in the boardroom at Park Board headquarters, 2117 West River Road, just north of Broadway Pizza.  Visitors to Park Board meetings can find at the back of the meeting room the agenda book with all the printed materials for the meeting.  NOTE: The reason for this third November meeting is because the Park Board budget has to be approved by the Park Board commissioners prior to the next City Council meeting where the City approves the Park Board budget

5:30 P.M.  OPEN TIME.  Speakers can call 612-230-6400 before 3:00 p.m. the day of the meeting to sign up or they can sign up at the Board meeting prior to the start of “Open Time”

Some agenda items of interest are:

Continue reading

Park Board Once Again Seeks Developer for Northeast Riverfront

Image courtesy of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board

Image courtesy of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board

The following article by Eric Best was published in the December 1,
2016 issue of the Southwest Journal.

Park Board Once Again Seeks Developer for Northeast Riverfront

The board is making progress on a number of high-profile riverfront projects.

A high-profile piece of riverfront land is slated for development — again.

After a proposal to revitalize part of a former lumberyard in Northeast Minneapolis failed to pan out last year, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board is once again looking for a new real estate developer for the site.

The Park Board is now seeking a real estate developer for the Scherer Bros. lumberyard site directly north of the Plymouth Avenue Bridge on the Mississippi River’s east bank. The board purchased the nearly 12-acre piece of land in 2010 for $7.7 million with a plan to one day rebuild the four-acre Hall’s Island and develop a new riverfront park.

To continue reading click on the link to the Southwest Journal

Developer Needed for Park Project on the River

The following article by Jim Buchta was published in the November 22, 2016 issue of the Star Tribune.

Developer Needed for Park Project on the River

 

Wanted: A developer willing to help close a key gap along the Mississippi Riverfront.

That firm must be willing to work with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board and several community groups to re-imagine a vacant 3.55-acre site along the river north of downtown.

To continue reading, click on the link to the Star Tribune

Mpls. park board seeks developer for land along the … – Star Tribune

Minneapolis Park Board’s 2017 Budget Focuses on Fiscal Responsibility, Service Delivery, and Implementation of the 20 Year Neighborhood Park Plan

The following item was circulated by the MPRB.

Minneapolis Park Board’s 2017 Budget Focuses on Fiscal Responsibility, Service Delivery, and Implementation of the 20 Year Neighborhood Park Plan

On Wednesday, December 7, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) adopted its 2017 budget for the park system, which serves more than 22 million visits annually. Continue reading

Crown Hydro — Notice Granting Late Intervention

The following item has been forwarded by Doug Verdier.

Crown Hydro — Notice Granting Late Intervention


Monday, November 21, 2016 4:36 PM

The notice itself is somewhat confusing in the way it is worded; however, it seems that FERC has granted the Friends of the Lock & Dam’s motion to intervene in the Crown Hydro project’s request for amendment to its license.
On 11/21/2016, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Washington D.C., issued this document:


Docket(s):         P-11175-025
Lead Applicant: CROWN HYDRO CORPORATION                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
Filing Type:     Formal Notice
Description:     Notice Granting Late Intervention re Crown Hydro, LLC under P-11175.

To view the document for this Issuance, click here
http://elibrary.FERC.gov/idmws/file_list.asp?accession_num=20161121-3056

Heads-Up for the December 7, 2016 Park Board Meeting

5:15 P.M.   SPECIAL MEETING.  This meeting is the budget meeting and will be held at City Hall, 250 South 4th Street.  The meeting will convene in Room 241; it will not be televised.

5:45 P.M.  OPEN TIME.  Speakers can call 612-230-6400 before 3:00 p.m. the day of the meeting to sign up or they can sign up at the Board meeting prior to the start of “Open Time”

6:05 P.M.  CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARING ON THE PARK BOARD BUDGET — The Public Hearing will be in the Council Chamber, Room 317.  It will be televised

COMMITTEE BUSINESS — This will be back in Room 241 after the public hearing

Agenda items are:

Continue reading

Heads-Up for the November 30, 2016 Park Board Meeting

5:00 P.M.  REGULAR BOARD MEETING.  The meeting will be held in the boardroom at Park Board headquarters, 2117 West River Road, just north of Broadway Pizza.  Visitors to Park Board meetings can find at the back of the meeting room the agenda book with all the printed materials for the meeting.  NOTE: The reason for this third November meeting is because the Park Board budget has to be approved by the Park Board commissioners prior to the next City Council meeting where the City approves the Park Board budget

5:30 P.M.  OPEN TIME.  Speakers can call 612-230-6400 before 3:00 p.m. the day of the meeting to sign up or they can sign up at the Board meeting prior to the start of “Open Time”

6:00 P.M.  PUBLIC HEARING — Parkway Paving Assessment 2014 to 2016

Some agenda items of interest are:

Continue reading