For those details I will humbly bow to Annie Young or John Erwin who usually moderate this issues list.
Steven M Nelson Willard Hay http://citizenshipchronicles.blogspot.com/ Get UP! Get OUT! & GET INVOLVED!!! > > >When the Park Board leased the land where the Nieman fields are located at > >Fort Snelling they also leased a building on the property which a developer > >proposed to turn into an indoor skate park. This developer contracted with > >other tradesmen such as electricians and carpenters and then failed to come > >up with the funding. Since the Park Board is ostensibly the deed holder on > >the property, these groups have filed liens to recoup their losses. Now > >other options are being looked at to settle the problem. > > > >Steven M Nelson > >Willard Hay > >http://citizenshipchronicles.blogspot.com/ > >Get UP! Get OUT! & GET INVOLVED!!! > > > > Steve, > > Thanks for your answer. I still don't understand this project. Which > building is it and what work was done? Who was the developer and why is > this project a failure? How much money have we (MP&RB) spent on this > project and and what are the future liabilities. What do we have for > all this mess!? > > Didn't the contractor have a performance and payment bond? I thought > these were required on all developments concerning public land to > prevent liens against public property. Why aren't we going after the bond? > > If the contractor didn't post a bond, why not? How did the developer > get this contract? How did the contractors get the work? Who was in > charge of the letting process? Who was superintendent? Who was on the > board at the time? > > You know, when they started building the deluxe ball fields out at Fort > Snelling, I looked at our soggy fields at Powderhorn (built over a lake) > and I just couldn't believe that the Park & Rec Board would bypass our > kids and build deluxe fields at Fort Snelling so suburbanites would be > comfortable playing our city teams. Hey, if the suburbanites wouldn't > come into town, why play them? > > I thought of Beltrami Park where I was active for several years. We > didn't have the money to turn on the lights at night. With intensive > lobbying, our soccer team got to play one home game - we got the lights > turned on one night (in about three years). Our kids were so poor that > they were running track in borrowed shoes held together by super glue - > when they got a chance to go to city, we had to have a fundraiser for > shoes. (They won at city and went on to state.) It's wasn't just > Beltrami - every park I knew about desperately needed funds to keep going. > > At Powderhorn, a group of citizens spent years trying to get cleanup > money for the lake. I joined the group at the end of this effort - we > spent a summer sending small groups to the Park Board meetings to make > our case. We finally got MPRB money - well under $200,000 - because > without it, they would have lost a $550,000 matching grant. At the same > time, the MPRB embarked on an $11 million Lake of the Isles project > which will include a new island. (Pardon me but I spent 11 years in NE > and I am still waiting for the return of Lake Sandy). That was also > the year the MPRB widened trails along Minnehaha Creek and built > baseball fields with dugouts at Ft. Snelling. > > What is the status of the ball fields at Fort Snelling? How many of our > park kids play there? Are they fostering competition between > Minneapolis and suburban teams? Are they making any money? > > I still want to know more about the 201 Building project. What was it, > how much has and will it cost, and who is responsible? > > Thanks, > Shawne FitzGerald > Powderhorn > > > REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
