[mpls] 9-07-05 MPRB HIghlights part 2

[Elizabeth Wielinski]

Planning committee
Presentation of the West River Road Plan from the Plymouth Av Bridge to=20=

the BNSF RR Bridge =20
http://www.minneapolisparks.org/documents/design/AboveFalls.pdf ( the=20
.pdf is 25 pages and is very detailed) is presented by Mike Kimble (=20
formerly of planning now head of community and governmental relations=20
for the MPRB).  He describes the planning process including a CAC that=20=

met over a 1 year long process with staff and the consultants.  He also=20=

stated that the plan had been approved by AFCAC (Above the Falls=20
Citizen Advisory Committee) and that the Met Council had approved the=20
park part.   There were many speakers following Mr. Kimble as part of=20
the public hearing including Meg Fourney who was chair of the CAC and=20
Tim Baylor the developer of the Riverview Towers ( just North of the=20
Taj Ma headquarters) and many other residents.  Their concerns included=20=

a turn around prior to their building ( to keep traffic to a minimum)=20
and moving the restroom shelter to a less secluded area, mainly nearer=20=

where the River Rats perform for safety reasons and of course loss of=20
street parking with the parkway redesign.  Total estimated cost... $10=20=

million, money so far $3,000,000 from the Mississippi Watershed=20
Organization. There was also some concern about drug use nearer the=20
secluded area of the RR bridge and Commissioner Dziedzic stated that=20
with the park police so close that will end, to which the audience gave=20=

a resounding NO.

Commissioner Hauser asked if the raingarden that was for the Riverview=20=

Tiwers was being paid for by the MPRB to which Mr. Baylor replied that=20=

it was funded by Riverview's developers.

passes

OPEN TIME-
  Rosemary Knutson, past president of the West Bank Community Coalition,=20=

said it appears to the WBCC Bluff
Street Park Task Force that the park board would like to sell the 8=20
acre derelict piece of land next to her
building. She said she had spoken before the park board in August 2000=20=

on the same issue.
Then-commissioner Dean Zimmerman opposed the sale. The WBCC formed the=20=

task force last fall to encourage the
park board to preserve the bluff as native open space rather than sell=20=

the parkland for real estate
development. The neighborhood was =93virtually unanimous=94 in support =
of=20
the $45,000 park plan as
designed by a consulting landscape design firm, the least expensive of=20=

three proposed designs
  Four issues: 1) This is the only significant amount of flat park land=20=

on this stretch of river bluff. 2) Does this
organization [the park board] work with residents to protect the=20
environment? 3) Does this organization
[another rhetorical question =85 I think it was broader, like does the=20=

park board work with citizens at all?]
4]Cedar-Riverside is densely populated =85 and id interrupted as she has=20=

gone over her 3 minutes per President Olson.

- Ann Forsyth, director of the Metropolitan Design Center at the=20
University of Minnesota said the task
force had asked her for free technical assistance in developing a park=20=

plan. There were steps taken
1) task force; 2) a stakeholders survey, held at neighborhood=20
organization=92s annual meeting; 3) Three
options, least expensive chosen. To learn more about free help, go to=20
www.designcenter.umn.edu and click on =93design assistance.=94

- Karen Swenson of Groundwork Minneapolis said her organization works=20
to turn blighted sites into open
space parkland. The Gas Works Bluff site had been included on a list of=20=

feasible sites they developed
some time ago (BF Nelson was another site on their list). They helped=20
arrange for AmeriCorps crew to be
available to work on Bluff Street Park next spring, and found funds for=20=

materials.

- Elizabeth Hopwood asked commissioners to keep the property as park=20
rather than condos. Most residents
are Somalian refugees who take their kids out to play in the evenings=20
and increased traffic from further
real estate development would endanger them. She wants =93open space for=20=

people from the Seven Corners area to utilize.=94

- Arthur Renander of Riverview Towers, thanked the board for the=20
opportunity to speak, then
said =93This is a [park] board in crisis,=94 well on its way to selling =
off=20
valuable park land. He called the
current commissioner whose district includes the Gas Works Bluff site=20
[Comm. Marie Hauser] a =93closet
supporter=94 of selling the land to condo developers, whose support was =
a=20
cover for the rest of the board to
approve the sale. He said the rumored sale price was far below the=20
land=92s value. =93An election can=92t come
soon enough!=94 he said. =93Our plan is incredibly simple.=94

- Bob Johnson,  said he lived at Riverview Towers for 24 years,=20
1979=962003. He cited the
great improvements to the area brought by the construction of West=20
River Parkway, but said Gas Works
Bluff was the site of a coal gas tank, and a 100-foot diameter concrete=20=

slab is still there. He said five
years ago there began a movement for creating a park there, which he=20
said would be a =93great misuse=94 [of
either money or parkland or both?]. =93This is a piece of land which=20
should be used for development. It
should be a high rise condo. That property should be sold for a high=20
price, and the money used to pay for
[existing] parks in the city.=94

- Tony Scallon, , was the city councilman when the townhouses near the=20=

site were built ( and has since worked on Hauser's campaigns). Gasworks=20=

Bluff is a =93highly polluted piece of ground,=94 he said. =93It=92s =
nice to=20
throw political bombshells, but you better take a  step back.=94 He made=20=

reference to an old lawsuit and warned the park board
=93not to get run over by some group.=94 He said the park board should=20=

worry more about pollution than politics

Liz's comment: according to Ms. Forsyth sitting next to me the park=20
plan will leave the site undisturbed unlike any development, which=20
would require much excavation.

- Arlene Fried said the park board public notice published Sept. 3=20
announced a DeLaSalle CAC meeting
for Sept. 13, which is illegal because it=92s primary election day. =
Pres.=20
Olson referred her to Asst. Superintendent Don Siggelkow.

- Edna Brazaitis described her background in alternative dispute=20
resolution. She said she had first asked the park board to form a=20
DeLaSalle CAC on July
6, as a =93big kitchen table, where everyone could sit around and talk.=94=
=20
Of the CAC, she said =93We have to be unleashed [and allowed to] think=20=

outside the box, and
we need time to do it.=94

- John Chaffee, asked what did the park commissioners want the CAC to=20
do with the copy of the 1983 Agreement that was in CAC members=92=20
packets? He asked for two reasons: 1) Despite assertions to the=20
contrary, several attorneys have said the agreement does not obligate=20
the park board in any way; and besides, 2) the conditions of
the agreement have been met: a football field and two tennis courts. In=20=

1984 DeLaSalle began using a piece of the public street to create a=20
regulation sized
football field. During the earlier CAC process for the island as a=20
whole, 1992-96, DeLaSalle=92s sole requirement were tennis courts. Three=20=

tennis courts were constructed in 1999 at public expense for DeLaSalle.=20=

Pres. Olson referred the question to CAC chair Bert McKasy.

- Barry Clegg said when the board passed a resolution to form a=20
DeLaSalle CAC, the community supported that resolution, expecting an=20
open, thorough, and fair
process=97but we are not on the track for that today. Why are there=20
representatives of soccer and football but not historic preservation=20
and environmental
interests? A park commissioner is openly armtwisting a neighborhood=20
organization on their appointment to the CAC. The original resolution=20
charged the CAC to look
at =93all aspects=94 of the project, but now the CAC charge is =93just=20=

design=97the color of the Astroturf and the location of the=20
Porta-potties.=94 As proposed by
Comm. John Erwin, the CAC process would include =93at least=94 three=20
meetings, but park staff have changed that to =93no more than=94 three=20=

meetings, to take place
over 16 days (compared to the West River Road CAC that took 18 months),=20=

a =93rocket docket=94 schedule unlikely to result in =93real due =
process.=94=20
=93If you want a
railroad job, skip the CAC=94 and just approve DeLaSalle=92s proposal, =
and=20
be prepared to deal with the consequences.

- Pres. Olson referred the question to CAC Chair McKasy, commenting=20
that when he (Olson) appointed McKasy as chair, he told him to ask if=20
he needs
anything, such as more time. Barry Clegg observed that the CAC packet=20
says the CAC=92s scheduled report to the board is =93time certain.=94 =
Comm.=20
Erwin says, =93The chair
of the committee can=92t change [the schedule on his own without board=20=

approval].

Liz Wielinski
Columbia Park