06-08-2017, 6:30 – 8:50
Phillips Park Cultural & Community Center, 2307 17th Ave
S.
EPIC web
address: eastphillips-epic.com
Office: 2536
18th Avenue S., Minneapolis, MN 55404
Phone: (612) -280-8418
Board Roster: Jenny Bjorgo, Rosie Cruz, Laura Dale, Mary Gonsior, Linda Leonard, Carol Pass, Tom Harris,
Linda Vermillion, Cassandra Holmes, .
Board Members Present: Carol
Pass, Linda Leonard, Laura Dale, Tom Harris , Cassandra Holmes, Rosie Cruz,
Linda Vermillion, Mary Gonsior
Board Members Not Present: Jenny Bjorgo,
Members: Brad Pass, Michael
Green, Lance Lamont, Carol Hill George Kennedy Margaret Kirkpatrick Sophia Hernandez (intern Little Earth); Child Care center owner and employee, Karen
Townsend, Rep. Karen Clark, Tiimothy Blighton, Carol Hill-Kennedy, George
Kennedy, Michael Green, Maria Gali, Carlos Contreras (Child Care center owner
and employee)
Guests: Shirley Heyer, Tim
and Skylor; Mahamed Cali, Brett Nyman, Tanya McCaleb,
6:30 Social Time/ Greetings and Introductions
Meeting called to
order at 6:45 pm
6:45 Approval
of Proposed June 8th Agenda:. Laura
and Cassie to approve agenda; motion
approved
Approval of General
Membership Draft Minutes from May 11th 13th
Rosie and
Laura with the motion to approve minutes.
Motion passed.
6:55 Announcements:
o
Summer Festival, Sunday, June 25, 2017, Tammy needs volunteers; She can be contacted through the park here or Brad
Pass at 612 916-8478. The flyer has more information and contact numbers. The
sign in sheet is a place people can indicate they want to volunteer. Tammy will
also take names of people who want to perform.
o Next EPIC Board Meeting, July 8th 10:00 am-noon, East Phillips Park
o Next EPIC Community Meeting, July 13th 6:30 - 8:45, East Phillips Park
Banyan has breakfast 8:30-10:00
am this Saturday on E 26th and 13th Ave S. Parking
available.
7:10 Crime Prevention and Safety Solutions with CPS Brett Nyman. We will
spend some time on this. Bring your
Concerns.
More Speed Bumps? Hire Security?
East
Phillips Safety Patrol–Lance Lamont
Lance has experience and would be happy to include the
broader community to beautify the community and pick up garbage including
sharps; deter crime; present outreach resources; engage people with dignity and
provide light snacks and beverages; Sophia Hernandez talked about crime
prevention programming and how it could benefit the community; She mentioned
funding and talked about being role models and giving young adults positive
programming. A lot happens at night with gunfire and gang activity. The idea is
to stipend young adults.
Linda mentioned that the Ambassador program already has
vests and handbook of the streets and other resources. Lance suggested ten pm
to 2 am. There are certain times of the month at the first and 15th
. Younger people would be during daylight perhaps. Hiawatha to Franklin to
Bloomington to Lake Street.
Carol reported the outcome of three years of citizen patrol
and reports to the legislature which resulted in over 3 million dollars for the
current East Phillips Park Cennter
Cassie asked about training and working with the police
doing certification through the city of Minneapolis. Lance has worked with
Inspector Sullivan.
Michael Green talked about win/win about youth funding and
crime control. He suggested a pilot program and discussion of not requiring the
4:1 match.
Lance asked about having some other people involved as
former patrol members.
Cassie asked about contact with each other like phones and
walkie/talkies.
Tom spoke about his son who is 14 and the cameras on his
business. He has seen a woman assaulted under the bridge in daylight. He suggested approaching businesses for
partnership and financing.
Action: Referred Lance to work out details with the Board.
7:27 We paused for introductions.
7:29 Brett.
Linda asked Brett to explain trespass process. The police
have an affidavit you sign and will give a trespass sign; you give the police a
trespass notice to serve on the people who are trespassing. We should call police and tell them someone
is there that we don’t want there. The signs have to be posted appropriately.
After they have been served they can be served again and arrested. Geographic
trespass is complicated and pertained to an area.
Rosie talked about a neighbor who did verbal trespass and
has been threatened by people for that.
Linda talked about how a property owner has to fill out the
form and the police will serve the form.
Mary Gonsiour asked about locking the back gate and Brad
said the building codes might be a challenge if there are yard gate locks.
Brett said whatever we can do for security is great. Michael asked Brett to bring information
about number of calls/responses/no ability to service because the culprit was
gone; Brett said goa: gone on arrival.
Brett said video is helpful.
Rosie talked about Salvation Army providing meals and that’s
why so many people hang on Lake and Bloomington. The bus stop is scary. Carol
spoke about the effect of putting locks on the fence near SA and how it keeps
people out and makes tenants safer. She spoke about a neighborhood that put up
high fences and locks and it really turned down the crime.
Mary talked about running into a deal taking place as she
comes home and the same people are involved very often. She asked how the
police respond if we call about obvious dealing. Brett said there are undercover surveillance
teams that do watch SA but they NEED reasonable suspicion to stop someone. Then
they can have a reason to stop someone. Resources are allocated for where the
calls come from. “ If you don’t call it never happened.”
The child care center can’t do their drills and take kids
out amid the prostitutes and dealers.
Cassie talked about making lots of calls from Little Earth
and now they have the “data”. Six habitual arrestees that are 25% of the
arrests. What you say is put in a machine model to prioritize calls. Key words
are important.
Mary asked about data and fundraising. Cassie said they got
funding $850,000 through grants. She spoke of changing relationships between
the police and Native peoples including training. Cassie said a missing piece is knowing how
the police feel about coming into the Native community.
What is the crime prevention plan? Is a question for Brett.
PPL rep said they had 911 calls explained and how the police
resources are distributed and then rerouted.
Carol suggested that Brett do a training for how to best
make 911 calls.
Comments were made about “Night Wolf” and their success in
how they treat people. They were helping people and established rapport.
Comments about school buses racing up and down 16th
and 18th and parking poor places. There should probably be calls and
letters sent out to schools and bus companies.
Carol said we should probably demand speed bumps and signage
about kids at play and push the city and county for assistance.
Shirley spoke about the speed of water works trucks, school
buses, and garbage service….we should all take notes of the license numbers
8:10 Karen Clark, Urban Agriculture
Bill
She explained the Special Session
and the Governor’s concerns and requirements. The drivers’ licenses for
undocumented people is hung up with special session and salary threats from the
governor. The governor has 4 major concerns. One of the laws in the education
bill is raising tuition and allowing unlicensed teachers in classrooms.
The good news: 1. The Roof
depot site neighborhood concerns and the city interaction with Cano resulted in
$319,000 with EPIC as fiscal agent. Brad
and Carol went with Karen and documentation to get the funding. This gives leverage with the city! Dean
Dovolis of DJR did the convincing drawings and gave testimony. Tammy Skinaway
and a relative of Carol Hill and others testified. Karen and Alondra will help
guide the next steps. We’ve been working on this three years.
2. The crime bill was bad but had funding for trafficking
and geographic trespassing. Margurita gave good testimony with Alondra.
Karen will host an open house
at the Capitol in about three weeks with Susan Allen and Jeff Hayden.
An environmental impact
statement is being heard right now. It goes through the best wild rice
district.
8:25 EPIC/KALY Radio Station Programming
Partnership for 2017.
He
has information from police reports that go out asap and has established a tip
line announcement.
He is asking about us recording
meetings to translate and broadcast. He offered to include Spanish as well.
“This meeting can go nowhere but we
can take it everywhere.”
There were comments about including
Spanish translation.
Brad asked about time to introduce
Tammy and Jean from the Park Board to
announce the talent show. Mohamed invited Tammy and Lance to come to the radio
to broadcast live. The radio will broadcast live from the Summerfest. He wants
to be able to edit a lot of the broadcasts so it is professional.
8:32 Tammy said she has a volunteer
list sign up for moon walk; parking attendant; set up and take down; etc.
Talent show is 3 day training
program at the park. There is ages 5-8 and ??
Four vendors; 7 info tables; the
Bike Patrol will come with ice cream; canine; firetruck; mounted police.
She asked Mohamed to try to recruit
Somali talent.
8:48 29 Street Improvement Project, What is
a Woonerf ? “shared street”
There is a planning process that
everyone is invited to which includes four different language groups. One is
Monday June 19.
8:45 Roof Depot
Site – Hiawatha Public Works Expansion: Community Input
Cassie and
Brad and Carol went to a meeting about the Roof Depot and public works informed
a committee and included contractors and employees for a conversation about
their ideas about plans. It seems there is no point in putting anything “green”
on the site because of asbestos and
soil contamination and the cost of 2
million dollars to clean up the site. They want a parking ramp on site.
Karen was in
a state of shock to learn about this meeting of which she wasn’t even
informed. Cassie reported They talked
about the 319,000 or 150,000 to focus on community special task force. They will contact Hope community and others
but not EPIC and not Little Earth.
People seemed unhappy.
Brad was in
the back and reported that they seem to want three different community plans and Brad would like to see one plan that serves everyone and brings unity so
they can’t say the community can’t agree”.
Greg G in
charge of public works and Alondra should be called. The staff apparently recommended that the
outer wall mjght be kept. They claimed the building won’t support solar. The old building has to
come down.
Karen would
like to be included in the next steering committee meeting hopefully and she
offered to host a meeting.
8:50 Celebrating SummerFest, Sunday, June 25th, Starts 1:00
pm, EPIC Needs Volunteers to help
8:55 Adjournment
