Some highlights:
5:00 P.M. REGULAR BOARD MEETING.
5:30 P.M. Open Time.
6:00 P.M. ADMINISTRATION & FINANCE COMMITTEE. The Committee will be voting on an exclusive ground lease agreement with Seed Academy/Harvest Prepatory School for Humboldt Triangle Park. Some questions here are is there compensation for this lease agreement and what is meant by "exclusive"?
As originally printed in the Star Tribune Letters to the Editor, Friday, May 2, 2008.
Make sure it's safe
Some highlights:
REGULAR BOARD MEETING. It was announced that the new Minnehaha District Manager will be Obie Kipper. He will replace Eileen Kilpatrick who recently retired.
The Board voted to accept 23 bids totaling $350,000 for stump removal and $950,000 for tree removal through March 31, 2009.
As originally printed in the Minnesota Monitor Wed Apr 23, 2008 at 3:46:57 PM
By Chris Steller
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board has told residents who requested public data that at least two top staffers — superintendent Jon Gurban and general manager Don Siggelkow — now make a policy of regularly deleting their e-mail correspondence.
As originally printed in the Minnesota Monitor Sat Apr 26, 2008 at 6:50:00 AM
by: Chris Steller
As state funding to local government shrinks, raising cash by selling off Mississipi River bluff parkland for development has proved tempting for both the metro's biggest city and one of its smallest urban entities.
As originally printed in the Minnesota Monitor Thu May 01, 2008 at 9:45:09 AM
by: Chris Steller
At the Minnesota Capitol, pigs -- or at least pork -- do fly. Some pork, like the proposed state subsidy for a new parking ramp at the Mall of America, flaps its wings loudly above bipartisan cheers. Other pork flies by more quietly, below the radar - like a bill legislators from both parties sent to the governor yesterday that would make the state pay for the same Minneapolis parkland twice.
As more and more Twin Cities schools install new-generation artificial turf, some critics are worried about its potential health and environmental risks.
By Bao Ong, Pioneer Press Last Updated: 04/25/2008 11:01:58 AM CDT
Krista Lundgren, a Lakeville South High senior, is a fan of the artificial turf replacing grassy athletic fields across the state.
Kudos to East Isles resident Harvey Ettinger whose letters and phone calls, as well as an Open Time speech to the Park Board, brought attention to the severity of the deterioration of Lake of the Isles Parkway. The following Park Watch post is excerpted from a longer article by Council Member Lisa Goodman that appeared in the April 19, 2008, issue of the Hill & Lake Press.
Some highlights:
5:00 P.M. REGULAR BOARD MEETING.
5:30 P.M. OPEN TIME.
5:45 P.M. PLANNING COMMITTEE. There will be a study/report presentation by the East Phillips Park Committee Design Team.
Some highlights:
5:00 P.M. REGULAR BOARD MEETING. The Board requested that the Board of Estimate & Taxation amend the adopted financial policy statements with respect to the City's Independent Boards allowing for the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board to levy property taxes at the level of up to 4% of its Total General Fund Operating Budget for the fiscal years 2009 through 2013.
The following article is from the April 7, 2008, issue of the Southwest Journal:
Pothole Parkway Dylan Thomas
EAST ISLES
When pothole season rolls around each spring, it doesn’t just come to one street; it arrives everywhere in Minneapolis at once.
5:00 P.M. REGULAR BOARD MEETING. Superintendent Jon Gurban submitted his monthly activity report. The Board approved the new 2008 golf rates and the schematic design for the East River Parkway Trail Improvements.
The following video by Jim Winkle about the Matthews Park ice rink was presented by Dave Chadborn during Open Time at a recent Park Board meeting. Chadborn is working with the community to ensure the future of local ice skating rinks to get kids and adults away from the TVs and down to their parks. Chadborn can be reached iceskatingisdancing at gmail.com.
Some highlights:
5:00 P.M. REGULAR BOARD MEETING. The Board will be requesting that the Board of Estimate & Taxation amend the adopted financial policy statements with respect to the City's Independent Boards allowing for the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board to levy property taxes at the level of up to 4% of its Total General Fund Operating Budget for the fiscal years 2009 through 2013.
The following Parks Update is from the March 24, 2008, issue of the Southwest Journal. It is Mary O'Regan's last Park Board article; she is no longer with the Southwest Journal. We will miss her.
Parks update Mary O'Regan
Bringing back swim docks
The following statement was presented by Arlene Fried, Co-founder of Park Watch, at the Park Board meeting on March 19, 2008, during Open Time:
SUNSHINE WEEK AND DATA PRACTICES
This is Sunshine Week, a national initiative focusing on government transparency and accountability, as well as Freedom of Information. The first point I want to make is that we live
Sunshine Week has come and gone for this year, but its message of the importance of Transparency and Accountability in all government matters should be one that lingers on throughout the year.
The following article appeared on the St. Paul Pioneer Press’s website.
Citizen Sunshine
Pioneer Press Article Last Updated dated 03/15/2008 04:38:11 PM CDT
Last night I received a voice message from Dawn Sommers, the Park Board's Public Relations representative, informing me that yesterday afternoon the Park Board announced that it would be telecasting the Committee of the Whole meeting today. So kudos to those who influenced this decision--a very significant one.
Arlene Fried Co-founder of Park Watch.
Some highlights:
5:00 P.M. REGULAR BOARD MEETING. The full Board will be approving the schematic design for East River Parkway and the 2008 golf rates.
The Board will also be voting to accept bids totaling $150,000 for fertilizers and another $150,000 for "plant protectants."
This week the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board will celebrate Sunshine Week* (www.sunshineweek.org) by retreating from transparency and public oversight. In a move that boggles the mind, the Park Board, after its regular meeting this Wednesday, will hold a Committee of the Whole meeting off-camera.
