Category Archives: B.F. Nelson

Newly-Renovated B. F. Nelson and Boom Island Parks Dedicated on September 8

NEWLY-RENOVATED B. F. NELSON AND BOOM ISLAND PARKS DEDICATED ON SEPTEMBER 8

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) dedicated the two newly renovated parks along the Mississippi riverfront on Saturday, Sept. 8 at B.F. Nelson Park: http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=4&parkid=470 The dedication’s activities included free voyageur canoe rides along the river by Wilderness Inquiry and face painting and games for kids.

Renovations at B.F. Nelson Park, located at 434 Main St., and neighboring Boom Island Park: http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=4&parkid=264 were recently completed, enhancing and adding features to the two popular parks linked along the Mississippi River.

“After years of effort by the Park Board and the St. Anthony West Neighborhood, these two parks and their much-anticipated improvements will provide fantastic access to the river by boaters, hikers, picnickers and wildlife enthusiasts,” said Liz Wielinski, MPRB First Park District Commissioner. “The Park Board appreciates the generous contributions from the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization, Parks and Trails Legacy Fund by way of the legislature, Metropolitan Council, St. Anthony West Neighborhood Organization and the City of Minneapolis. These important riverfront parks will serve the community and region for generations to come.”

HEADS-UP FOR THE OCTOBER 20, 2010 PARK BOARD MEETING

HEADS-UP FOR THE OCTOBER 20, 2010 PARK BOARD MEETING

5:00 P.M. REGULAR BOARD MEETING. Committee meetings to follow. The meetings will be held in the boardroom at Park Board headquarters, 2117 West River Road, just north of Broadway Pizza.

5:30 P.M. OPEN TIME. Speakers need to sign up before 3:00 p.m. the day of the meeting.

This meeting is the last meeting that David Fisher will be attending as Superintendent. His four month stint as interim superintendent ends on October 31. We are grateful that he accepted the invitation to come to Minneapolis to fill this position.

This meeting is a meeting with many significant agenda items. The most important item on the agenda is the vote to approve the employment agreement with Jayne Miller, who–at the last meeting–was selected by a unanimous vote to be the new MPRB Superintendent.

Some highlights of the meetings that will be voted on :

The I-35 Bridge Memorial.
The concession agreement with Bread & Pickle at Lake Harriet.
The reconvening of the CAC for the Wirth Beach Project III.
The non-appointed CACs for two playgrounds at Lake Harriet.

There will be a presentation of the Superintendent’s 2011 Recommended Budget. This is a report item and will not be voted on at this time.

The following is the link to the complete agenda, with staff reports, for the MPRB Board of Commissioners’ meeting of Wednesday, October 20: http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=37&calid=670

MPRB meetings are broadcast live from 5-9 p.m. on the City of Minneapolis Government Meeting Channel 79 on Comcast cable and online at http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/webcasts.

The regular meetings are rebroadcast on Channel 79 at 1 p.m. Saturdays and 5 p.m. on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month. Webcasts for the recent two months are posted two to five business days after the meeting and are available for viewing under “Webcast Archives” at http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/webcasts.

The Park Board’s website is http://www.minneapolisparks.org.

Arlene Fried, Co-founder of Park Watch

Boom Island Citizen Advisory Committee Meeting, Tuesday 12/15

The MPRB will hold a series of Citizen Advisory Committee meetings to develop recommendations for redevelopment plans for Boom Island Park in conjunction with development of the adjacent B F Nelson Park. This will be the first meeting.

Date: 12/15/2009
Time: 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Type: Regular
Location: MPRB Administrative Offices, Board Room Suite 255
Address: 2117 West River Road, Minneapolis

www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=34&calid=597

Map and Directions

Boom Island Citizen Advisory Committee Meeting, Tuesday 12/15

The MPRB will hold a series of Citizen Advisory Committee meetings to develop recommendations for redevelopment plans for Boom Island Park in conjunction with development of the adjacent B F Nelson Park. This will be the first meeting.

Date: 12/15/2009
Time: 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Type: Regular
Location: MPRB Administrative Offices, Board Room Suite 255
Address: 2117 West River Road, Minneapolis

www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=34&calid=597

Map and Directions

Private Group Proposes Chinese Garden on 12-acre Parkland

From an article by Sarah McKenzie in the Downtown Journal:

» A local group promoting stronger ties between the United States and China is considering building a large garden at the B.F. Nelson site on the edge of Downtown.

The Minnesota chapter of the U.S. China Peoples Friendship Association presented its plans to the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board on Jan. 4 – its first meeting with a new slate of Commissioners.

The association is considering several potential sites for the garden. The B.F. Nelson site, however, is considered prime because of its proximity to the Mississippi riverfront and Downtown.

If approved, the garden would be the only Chinese garden in Minnesota and the first traditional northern-style Chinese garden in the United States, said Linda Mealey-Lohmann, one of the founders of the Minnesota chapter of the Friendship Association.

A northern-style Chinese garden is defined by bold red and green colors while southern-style gardens typically feature gray, white and black hues. There are Southern-style Chinese gardens in New York, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle.

During a Power-point presentation before the Park Board, she said the garden would be world class and a major attraction for the city.

It would feature water as a focal point, as well as Chinese herbs and medicinal plants.

The Park Board did not take any action on the proposal at the Jan. 4 meeting.

Mealey-Lohmann said the chapter plans to brief neighborhood leaders on its ideas. The B.F. Nelson site falls within the St. Anthony West neighborhood next to the Nicollet Island/East Bank neighborhood.

A plan for a garden on the site would face challenges because of pollution. The Park Board received a $200,000 federal grant last year to clean the site, which contains buried asphalt.

The 12-acre site east of Nicollet Island has been city parkland since 1986.

The Park Board has a $4.6 million master plan for the city that calls for keeping the site largely “passive green space” with a new historical interpretive center.

Park Board Commissioner Walt Dziedzic, who represents the area, said the B.F. Nelson site has tremendous potential and called it one of the park system’s crown jewels that could be the city’s Central Park.

Commissioner Tracy Nordstrom, the board’s new vice president, told the association she would support their efforts, adding the city needs more gardens, particularly Downtown.

Some, however, expressed skepticism.

Commissioner Scott Vreeland raised concerns about turning public land over to a private user.

The issue is a familiar one. That’s the same question at the center of the debate over whether Nicollet Island’s DeLaSalle High School has the right to build a new athletic complex on park-owned property. «

Original article at Downtown Journal website.