EPIC
Community Meeting Draft Minutes
July 14, 2022, 6:30 – 7:30
Little Earth Farm
EPIC web address: eastphillips.org
Email: sarah@eastphillips.org
Office: 2433 Bloomington Ave., Minneapolis, MN
55404
Phone:
(612)
354-6802
Board Roster: Mary Gonsior, Cassandra Holmes, David Ingold, Shontal Lajeunesse, Steve Sandberg, Schuyler Sellars, Karen Townsend, Nikolas Winter-Simat, LR Young
Board Members Present: Karen Townsend, Nikolas Winter-Simat, Steve Sandberg, Cassandra Holmes
Board Members Not Present: Mary Gonsior (E), David Ingold (E), Schuyler Sellars (E), LR Young (E), Shontal Lajeunesse
Members: Scottie Hall, CUP, Gibby, Lily Bergeron, Devika Ghai, Lex Horan, Rose, Chiffon, Spencer, Joel Ruby, Rob Henrickson, Remy Corso
Guests: Sam Taitel, Lauren Callis, Temi Agbaje, Tori Agbaje
No quorum, meeting as a committee of
the whole.
6:00 Food, music, art and sign up for healing
services
6:30 Approve Agenda
Approve Minutes from last month
Welcome and introduce Sam Taitel from Nonviolent Peaceforce
6:30 Community Conversation
Questions:
o What are the different types of violence that you see in
your neighborhood?
o When do you feel unsafe?
o How is safety through the lens of nonviolence different
than what we are used to?
o In your boldest imagination, what does an ideal community
look like? This could be pulling from your own experiences, or a completely new
idea.
o When do you feel safe?
o What is something that makes your community feel stable
and comfortable?
o What are three of your personal core values?
o How do you live out or embody those values in your daily
decisions and actions?
o What does it mean to embody safety as a core value? How
does safety as a core value impact your daily decisions and actions?
o What’s one thing that you’ve gotten out of today’s
conversation that really resonated
with you?
o What’s one thing that came out of today’s conversation
that you find difficult or concerning?
o What do you need for support moving into the future?
Preguntas:
o ¿Qué tipos de violencia observa usted en su vecindario?
o ¿En qué situaciones se siente usted en peligro?
o ¿En qué se diferencia la seguridad desde el punto de vista
de la no violencia de aquello a lo que las personas están acostumbradas?
o Si pudiera usar su imaginación sin límites, ¿cómo cree que
sería una comunidad ideal? Esto puede ser a partir de sus propias experiencias,
o puede ser una idea completamente nueva.
o ¿En qué situaciones se siente usted a salvo?
o ¿Qué hace que su comunidad se sienta estable y a gusto?
o ¿Cuáles son tres de sus valores personales fundamentales?
o ¿De qué manera practica o incorpora esos valores en sus
decisiones y acciones diarias? o ¿Qué significa incorporar la seguridad como
valor fundamental? ¿Cómo influye la seguridad como valor fundamental en sus
decisiones y acciones diarias?
o ¿Qué aprendió de la conversación de hoy y con qué se
identificó más?
o ¿Hay algo que se mencionó en la conversación de hoy que le
parezca difícil o preocupante?
o ¿Qué tipo de apoyo necesita para el futuro?
Su'aalo
o Waa maxay noocyada kala duwan ee rabshadaha ah ee aad ku
aragto xaafaddaada?
o Goorma ayaad dareentaa in aadan haysan badqabid?
o Sidee bay badqabiddu kula tahay marka aysan jirin wax
rabshado ah oo ka duwan kuwii aad u baratay?
o Haddii aad iska male-awaasho, sidee bay u ekaan kartaa
bulshada nabdoon? Waxaa ka mid noqon kara waayo-aragnimo ku soo martay, ama
fikrad cusub.
o Goorma ayaad dareentaa badqabid?
o Waa maxay waxa bulshada u keeni kara xasillooni iyo dhib
la'aan?
o Waa maxay saddex wax oo kuu ah qiyam shakhsiyeed oo muhiim
ah?
o Sidee baad qiyamkaaga ugu muujisaa ama ugu adeegsataa
go'aankaaga iyo ficilkaaga maalin kasta?
o Maxay ka dhigan tahay marka badqabidda lagu saleeyo
qiyamkaaga muhiimka ah? Sidee bay badqabidda oo ah qiyam muhiim ah u saameysaa
go'aankaaga iyo ficilkaaga?
o Waa maxay hal wax oo aad ka dhex heshay wada-sheekeysigii
maanta oo aad run ahaantii dareentay?
o Waa maxay hal wax oo kaaga soo baxay wada-sheekeysigii
maanta oo kula noqday wax adag ama walaac ah?
o Mustaqbalka waa maxay waxa taageerada ah ee aad u baahan
karto?
7:15 Community announcements
●
Welcome
to new EPIC staff!
○
Hindolo
Pokawa - Program Manager
○
Hayat
Guled - Outreach Worker and Project Manager
○
CUP
Uani - Garden Coordinator
○
Emrys
Stramer - Garden Coordinator
●
How
to become a member
○
Mark
on the sign in sheet that you would like to be an EPIC member
○
All
members are allowed to vote on EPIC decisions and motions
●
Next
Board Meeting will be: Saturday,
August 6th from10am-11am TBD and online (link to join is at
eastphillips.org)
o
Board
Meetings are open to the public
●
Next
Community Meeting will be: Thursday, August 11 from 6:30-7:30 TBD
o The topic will be: Midtown Greenway sharing about Phillips Traffic Safety Improvement
Project
o Note September 8
community meeting will have healing services, art, music and food as well -
location TBD
●
EPIC
has a housing program! 0% interest! Fix up your home or buy a new home in East
Phillips – Check your email for the brochure or go to: mncee.org/east-phillips:
Programs for East Phillips Residents | Center
for Energy and Environment (mncee.org)
●
If
you smell a foul odor around Smith foundry or Bituminous Roadways call 311 to
report
o
Write
down your incident number
●
Microgrant
program
o
Get
paid to organize and lead community clean ups - Cleaning Captain
o
Do
you have an area on your property that keeps getting tagged (graffitti)? Or are
you a public artist? - have an artist create a public art project to help
prevent further tagging or help install public art projects
o
Do
you want to organize skill shares for your neighbors - de escalation skills,
how to build a bench etc. - EPIC will reimburse you for expenses and pay guest
speakers
o
Would
you like free alley lighting on your garage or home to disincentivize crime?
EPIC will pay for all expenses - electrician and all
o
Do
you want funds towards a block party? - Get reimbursed for paper products, kids
activities etc.
▪
Find
more information and application at eastphillips.org or call Sarah (612)
354-6802
●
Welcome
bag - do you have a new neighbor on your block? Are you new to East Phillips?
o
Get
an EPIC welcome bag from Sarah!
●
EPIC
has approved a strategic plan (at the end of this agenda), it is a living
document and we want to hear from you where you would like to plug in
o
be
sure to mark on the sign in sheet where you would like to engage!
7:20 Community Decisions
LifeStyle
Recovery Community Groups proposal - view proposal attached. Tabled because due
to lack of Board Member quorum
MOTION: The EPIC
Board of Directors and EPIC members approve of the LifeStyle Recovery Community
Groups proposal with minor changes to the budget based on city funding
requirements
7:30 Adjourn
East Phillips
Improvement Coalition
Strategic Plan:
Draft as of Jun 4 2022
Updated
6/22/22
Some approaches to keep in mind
across all goals (Values Statement):
●
We emphasize
neighbors implementing our own ideas over someone coming in from outside
●
EPIC’s role
is primarily to facilitate East Phillips neighbors and organizations to enact
positive change in the neighborhood.
●
We support
and empower the younger generation in getting involved in leadership roles in
the community
●
Accessibility
& transparency, eg: advertising all meetings online as well as offline (in
park building and other frequented spaces)
●
Culturally
relevant resources
● all of this work is towards building a joyful, vibrant and holistically
safe neighborhood
VISION:
Our
vision for East Phillips is to be a holistically healthy place where all can
enjoy and celebrate it for being a diverse community that works together for
the mutual thriving of all.
MISSION:
To
work towards this vision we will engage in projects that are:
1. Building neighbor involvement
and facilitating connections to resources & opportunities.
Projects:
|
1-2 years |
3-5 years |
5-10 years |
|
Increase interpretation/ translation capacity
to enable non-English speaking neighbors to participate in community events
and benefit from neighborhood resources. |
Establish
a neighborhood resource center / outdoor event space. |
Develop
accessible spaces of connections that overlap multiple needs including food,
recreation, cultural expression, employment and social interaction (e.g. Roof
Depot). |
|
Encourage
and inspire opportunity to create and display neighborhood-based art. |
Hire
an event organizer for outdoor summer events. |
Establish
effective ways to convey information and facilitate communication between
community members |
|
Compile
a list of local contractors & professionals so people can hire from
within the neighborhood. |
Increase
programming, connections, and positive relationships for neighorhood youth
(may include hiring staff for youth engagement). |
Increase
diverse community participation in local recreation, events, action
committees and interest groups |
2. Addressing trauma, poverty, and
violence in our neighborhood
Projects:
|
1-2 years |
3-5 years |
5-10 years |
|
Pay
stipends and provide training for neighborhood safety teams to walk around
and de-escalate/build safety on summer evenings |
Reduce
/ eliminate overdose deaths (eg: Overdose Prevention Site) |
Publically
acknowledge present impact of historical and ongoing trauma and active
collaborative work towards meaningful reparations. |
|
Brighten our alleys. |
Connect with organizations that are addressing
gun violence. |
Provide
access to culturally relevant healing resources, community spaces and basic
needs |
|
|
Empower
residents to reduce gun violence / develop peacemaking alternatives. |
Provide
culturally relevant addiction prevention and harm reduction services for
substance use/addiction. |
|
|
|
Facilitate
access to economic resources for East Phillips Low-Income/Underpaid Residents
to reduce the metro wealth-gap (e.g. Basic Income) |
3. Establishing walkable access to
quality and affordable food
|
1-2 years |
3-5 years |
5-10 years |
|
Exchange
food between gardeners |
Create
summer time free market and gardens |
Networks
of local gardens for produce/exchange and food events. |
|
Connect
neighbors for springtime seedling exchange/swap |
|
Create
business partnerships between local gardens/producers and markets/food
vendors (e.g. farmer market) |
|
Provide
resources for neighbors gardening (seeds, starts, compost etc). |
|
Increasing
amount and visibility of local food growth and access. |
|
Empower
youth to build garden beds for neighbors (e.g. Little Earth youth helping
their elders) |
|
|
4. Creating truly affordable &
healthy housing and commercial spaces
|
1-2 years |
3-5 years |
5-10 years |
|
Support
tenants in addressing issues with landlords. |
Put
in place strong requirements with respect to more affordable housing in new
developments. |
Increase
access to home improvement and home purchase funds/programs |
|
Include
housing questions, renter rights, & info on EPIC housing, in outreach |
Build
innovative housing alternatives that are affordable below median income (e.g.
tiny homes, shipping containers) |
Increase
in truly affordable rent, cooperative living, community ownership and locally
owned businesses |
|
|
|
Establish
priorities for new construction & development including local employment |
|
|
|
Establish
community-owned housing (e.g. Roof Depot development). |
5. Improving the quality of our
outdoor environment towards a thriving ecosystem
|
1-2 years |
3-5 years |
5-10 years |
|
Plant
native trees on the boulevards and provide native seeds, bushes, and plants
for yards and gardens that support birds and pollinators |
Plant
pollinator gardens (e.g. in city-owned roundabouts or lots) |
Develop
accessible greenspaces that connect people to land and each other |
|
Develop ongoing system to deal with trash and
litter. |
Support
multiple strategies to keep public spaces clean and safe for all. |
Remediate
high pollution sites and transition to uses that benefit the community and
ecosystem (e.g. foundry, asphalt plant) |
|
Develop
more public art & murals. |
|
|
