In a message dated 4/5/2001 12:08:13 PM Central Daylight Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
<< First off let me express what i have always felt
was/is a limitation in NRP despite the many benefits I
see.
It is what is commonly referred to as Balkanization.
When NRP was created, its main purpose as I understand
it was to shift focus back onto the neighborhoods from
what many perceived to be, correctly or not, an
overemphasis on downtown development at the expense of
the outlying neighborhoods. Being the paranoid cynic I
am, I also saw it as a means for the dominant DFL to
cement their position at City Hall. >>
Though the idea of the NRP has a nice concept at its base, unfortunately in
the city of Mineapolis we have too many neighborhood groups. A few of these
groups are efficient and many of them are unproductive. The money toward the
NRP program is collected through taxpayer money and it is geared to assist
projects within specific neighborhoods. By doing so, the city has placed the
power in the hands of these neighborhood groups who are to decide how the
money will be spent. Unfortunately, most of these neighborhood groups are
not capable of running a program with the large sum of money the NRP offers.
>From my observation, the NRP money has created conflicts within these
organizations. Currently, most of the neighborhood groups have an executive
director, staff, an office headquarters and many other expenses that come
along with having an organization. I'm wondering how much of this NRP money
goes toward offsetting the expenses of the organization itself. In addition,
I'm wondering how many neighborhood organizations are capable of running a
business in of itself. This is not to mention all the NRP staff at the MCDA
that we pay to review NRP plans and implement the dispersement of the money.
I think that the idea of spending money and empowering individual
neighborhoods is a good idea, however I am concerned about the process in
which it is currently set. I think that individual neighborhood groups who
are volunteer-based organizations should draft a proposal for a project and
submit it to an agency within the city of Minnepolis. They would then have
to lobby for the project through their councilmember.
I also believe that the city has given far too much power to the people in
charge of the NRP, one of those individuals being Mr. Miller. Mr. Miller
recently gave the Ventura Village and JIm Graham wrong information on who
should be able to vote in a neighborhood meeting. Is it Mr. Miller's
responsibility to interpret the laws and advise Mr. Graham on neighborhood
voting laws? Being part of a citizen participation mission in the NRP, I
feel that Mr. Miller exerted his power in an improper manner by giving Mr.
Graham incorrect information (i.e. info that excluded citizen participation
in the VV meeting).
I really feel that the city council and the mayor's office should revisit the
NRP structure and the process involved to receive the NRP money. I further
believe that property taxes (which in effect, results in the rental base in
that area) should be decreased. I am for those people who don't have the
funds to repair their homes or for those who want to start a small business,
but I am not for public money that is wasted on administrative costs.
My thoughts,
Basim Sabri
Central/Whiitier/Lowry Hill East
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