November
10th, 2011, 6:30 p.m. – 8:45 p.m.
East Phillips Park Cultural & Community Center
2307 17th Ave S.
2307 17th Ave S.
EPIC
web address: eastphillips-epic.com
Office:
2536 18th Avenue S., Minneapolis, MN 55404
Attendance:
Board Members: Earl Simms, Jennie Bjorgo,
Chiffon Williams, Carol Pass, Linda Leonard, Steve Struthers, Mary Gonsior,
Members: Nicolas Collard, Ali
Macalm, Jose Alvarez, Susana Luque, Margaret Weaver, Bayessa Didi,, Carlyle
Bowker, Hannah Lieder, Brad Pass, Gabriel Pass, Margaret Kirkpatrick, Rosie
Cruz
Guests: Jana Metge, Shirley Heyer,
Al Bangoura,
6:45 Introduction:
· Greetings and Introductions.
· Approval
of Agenda (Nicolas Collard, SS)
·
Approval
of Minutes from EPIC 10/13 /2011 General Membership Meeting (BP, CP)
·
Agenda additions: Chicago Corridor Public Hearing
·
Minutes corrections: missing website and mailing
address
6:40 Announcements:
·
November
14th, Monday, 9:30 – 10:30 am, Bii Di Gain Dash Anwebi (Come in. Rest.) Elder
Housing Groundbreaking Ceremony, Note about T Alley layout. Carol has plans,
include short discussion. EPIC will go to the groundbreaking and raise our
questions.
MOTION: EPIC contact
Mike Goze and any other leaders of the development and request that all
documentation at the groundbreaking and any subsequent documentation mentioning
donors, must include EPIC’s contribution of $---. (BP, ES) Passed.
·
November 17th, Thursday, NRP Policy Board Elections: Jenny Bjorgo is our elector.
·
November
21st, 4:30, 23rd Floor, Henn. County Government Center, Final Passage of our
Postponed NRP Phase II Action Plan
·
Friday
Nov. 11, 2011, St. Paul’s Church, 6:00 pm, Big Party, Honoring Wendell Phillips
(birthday was 11/11/1811) and the Alley Newspaper
·
Chicago
Corridor Public Hearing, Tuesdays, Nov. 15, 2011. This is the FINAL public
hearing on the Chicago Corridor. 24th Avenue connects to the corridor, and
streetcars on Chicago could connect to EPIC. Anyone can attend, the plan is on
the internet.
·
Open
Arms, Director resigned (Kevin Winge); having a big party. EPIC will send out
an email about the date/time. Thurs. Dec. 1, 5 PM, RSVP requested.
7:16 Plan Modification of
NRP Phase I dollars to assist with completion of the park baseball and
soccer fields.
community meeting to
recommend passage of the following Plan Modification:
Motion: EPIC membership
moves to transfer $52,280.54 from the following listed categories,
consolidating them in the goal named Environment/Transportation/Parks, strategy
6.5.7.1 Playgrounds, to facilitate completion of the East Phillips Park soccer
and baseball fields. The categories to be consolidated are:
1. Housing Resource Center $35.09
2. Home
Ownership Assistance, 1.2.1 $30,228.31
3. Housing, Vacant Housing, 1.5.1 $257.17
4. Crime and Safety, 1.1.1 $474.25
5. Lifespan, Early Learning Center 2.1.1 $7,078.30
6. Lifespan, 24-Hour Youth Center 2.1.2 $1,000.00
3. Housing, Vacant Housing, 1.5.1 $257.17
4. Crime and Safety, 1.1.1 $474.25
5. Lifespan, Early Learning Center 2.1.1 $7,078.30
6. Lifespan, 24-Hour Youth Center 2.1.2 $1,000.00
7. Environ/Transport/Parks,‘Green
Economy' 3.4.1 $92.30
8. Environ/Transport/Parks, Transportation 4.1.1 $1,495.17
9. Environ/Transport/Parks, Midtown Greenway 4.2.1 $10,017.61
10. Environ/Transport/Parks, Bike Paths 4.2.4 $17.61
11. Environ/Transport/Parks, Stewart Park, Safety 5.3.1 $1,495.17
12. Environ/Transport/Parks, Forest Management 5.6.1 $71.94
13. Include Environ/Transport/Parks, Playgrounds 5.7.1 $17.61
Total $52,280.54
8. Environ/Transport/Parks, Transportation 4.1.1 $1,495.17
9. Environ/Transport/Parks, Midtown Greenway 4.2.1 $10,017.61
10. Environ/Transport/Parks, Bike Paths 4.2.4 $17.61
11. Environ/Transport/Parks, Stewart Park, Safety 5.3.1 $1,495.17
12. Environ/Transport/Parks, Forest Management 5.6.1 $71.94
13. Include Environ/Transport/Parks, Playgrounds 5.7.1 $17.61
Total $52,280.54
PASSED: (BP, SS)
7:30 Issues with the politics of the Phase II Plan and the Policy
Board. Crafting EPIC’s Response.
Two claims as to why the EPIC Phase II was tabled at the
meeting:
- Legal issues (could be approved pending legal review.)
- Not an approved citizen participation plan.
Documents distributed to EPIC members:
- Waite House Executive Director’s letter
- NRP Exec. Director’s Memorandum
- NRP NRP Exec. Director’s recent letter (response to issue related to the citizen participation plan. Confirms that the EPIC citizen participation plan was approved on February 17, 2011.
- Documentation of EPIC’s Phase II Process.
- EPIC Phase II Plan
Discussion:
Jana Metge, as a resident of Midtown, and as a staff person
at NRP stated: “There was nothing inappropriate in Carol’s comments regarding
the Midtown plan, and as a neighborhood representative she was elected to make
these types of comments. What she did was GOOD.”
Nicola supports Carol’s comments and the actions of EPIC in
responding to the setback of our Phase II plan. Question of the amounts listed
in Robert Miller’s letter: Jana and Carol will review the numbers and report
next month.
Shirley recommended correction of motion to list “Director” of
Waite House. She reported that at a Midtown meeting subsequent to passing of
their NRP Phase II plan, she was not permitted to even raise an issue or
discuss possible changes.
Steve is concerned about the motion, He is not convinced that
EPIC should put our members at risk as a result of Midtown neighborhood’s
process.
Carol responded that we don’t need to act on this motion
immediately, but we work with Midtown Phillips and even though we are separate
neighborhoods, we want to partner to serve our communities.
Motion: Support the letter from Waite House Director Francisco
Segovia, and the concerns of the ethnically diverse families of Midtown
Phillips.
Motion: Call upon NRP and the new NCR to take the grass roots effort
to be responsive to the ethnically diverse people more seriously on a
neighborhood level. Support our NRP and NCEC rep in pressing this as a grass
roots ethical issue.
OMNIBUS
MOTION encompassing
the 2 motions (LL, ES) Motion Passes, 1 opposed (SS); 1 abstain (NC)
7:45 Neighborhood Crime Control: Ideas, Plans, Decisions, Block
Clubs, Volunteers
Luther Krueger’s letter, map and
example of crime report.
- A Central
Repository for Crime
-Block Clubs
If you are a block leader or if you want to receive alerts, send
an email to Luther Krueger and request MPD Action Alerts. We asked to receive a
larger circle of notification, and we were told no. Krueger wants to send the
information to the most local source. However, in EPIC we have blocks that aren’t
organized, and we don’t have block leaders.
EPIC can serve as an arms-length representative for residents
with problem properties. Residents should bring neighboring problem properties
to EPIC, as well as attend meetings to assist with crime problems for properties
a little further away.
Motion:
EPIC requests notification of all crime data for the neighborhood. Point out
that other neighborhoods (with staff) receive this information. (BP, LL)
Passed.
Invite Lauretta to speak to EPIC about forming block clubs,
hooking up with block clubs already formed, and disseminating information about
crime prevention.
The City of Minneapolis is holding a block club leader
training on Nov. 17.
Plan
of action: Create
Block Clubs and request crime reports from the police. Make a Plan to consolidate
and coordinate crime reports and problem properties. Centrally locate this
information and circulate it to residents. Work with Block clubs on the other
side of Bloomington Ave. Arrange Network Meetings.
8:15 Digital Design workshop- spring class
for teens at Waite House
From:
Julie Graves
Waite
House is seeking some financial support around a 12-14 week digital workshop
teaching design software during our spring semester at Waite House. The final
project will include doing some professional design work for the Dakota Jazz
Club. Phillips teens will get the chance to add this comprehensive learning
experience to their resume and portfolio.
While
we have students and teachers from MCAD spearheading the project (therefore the
in-kind contribution for staffing is thousands of dollars J), we don’t have any
supply income. I would like to approach the neighborhood orgs for a modest
contribution to help make this project happen. The name of the project is
“Diseno para el Comunidad” or Design for the Community and will be led by MCAD
senior Daniel de la Torre. We will have ample slots for any teens residing in
Phillips. I see this as an awesome opportunity for the neighborhoods to
collaborate on a project that will bring dozens of talented MCAD staff and
students to Phillips while supplying a quality academic/job experience for
Phillips teens lacking job opportunities. Each neighborhood that contributes
could designate slots for youth from their neighborhood, and we could also do a huge
recognition party this spring for our “graduating” students. I’m hoping these students
could eventually help with graphic design for each group, in fact we could make
that a condition of the funding.
Motion: EPIC will
dedicate $500.00 or up to $750.00 to sponsor spots for 5-7 teens from East
Phillips who would participate and produce a graphic design proposal
representing the East Phillips Neighborhood. (LL, SS) Passed.
8:25 Henn. County Care Project - Contract Info
There
is an effort to support and enhance development in the corridor along the Light
Rail (Hiawatha Avenue.) EPIC was included in a project to receive a grant of up
to $2M, in partnership with Longfellow neighborhood and Karen Clark’s Women’s
Environmental Health organization. Carol has signed the partnership agreement
with Hennepin County and if we are able to complete all the terms, we will
receive a stipend of $500 over two years.
9:00 Adjournment
EPIC web address: eastphillips-epic
