The post on Marie H's voting inconsistencies must have struck a nerve - a bit too close to home perhaps? In addition to Scott N's "hate mail" I have received private notes of support and encouragement from a number of people, including elected Park Board & City Council members. Those who may feel that the back room process is out of hand? Elected officials who felt manipulated by special interests in their votes?
I appreciate Scott's correction on the great salary debate - it is good to know that Neiman's legacy will be a raise EIGHT times that of the national average, during a recession year! As an employee of Hopkins schools, what was your raise this year Scott? What were the raises for Park Board employees? (Dean Z, what were you thinking proposing a 100% raise?) He is correct on one other point: the election was over in November. Unfortunately, that does not allow our officials to stick their heads in a back room and ignore the constituents until 2005! Time to stop being offended by critique: now the hard work begins - learning to govern & lead. Minneapolis Park Board at a Crossroads Crisis in Use - Our parks are seeing the heaviest levels of usage in history. That pressure is causing cracks in our infrastructure, strain around the edges to keep up with the demand. This is seen in garbage collection, road and field maintenance, lake and river erosion, and much more. Crisis in Safety - Almost universal in our park system is the concern of safety. Our parks, while actual crime may have decreased in whole or part, have perceived and actual safety problems that prevents individuals from using the parks effectively. Crisis in Traffic - As spill over routes from city congestion, park roads have become commuter thoroughfares. Based on recent studies, speeds now average over 40 mph in places during commute hours, higher at night. Our children, our parents, our families take their lives into their own hands when attempting to cross one of these "urban freeways" to get to a park. (Speed limits on the parkways are set at 25 mph for a reason: adults typically do not die when stuck by a car moving at 25 mph or less. Children tend to perish at 17-18 mph or higher.) The list goes on - Crisis in the Environment, Crisis in Diversity, Crisis in Management, Crisis in Communication/Public Relations. all pointing to a Crisis in Funding. Crisis in Funding - While full of good intentions, the Park Board is fiscally in bad shape. Infrastructure has been neglected. Improvements have been postponed. Money is short to acquire and preserve Park land. Projects are begun without sufficient thought to ongoing maintenance. Neighborhood NRP dollars are relied on to improve crosswalks, repair broken stairs, and plant hillsides. Gardens are planted without the funding to water the plants during the heat of summer. Maintenance has been handed over to the City. Fiscal responsibility means tough choices folks, and this is exactly what our elected Board is supposed to decide. Crisis in Vision, Crisis in Spirit - The fractures in the Park Board over the past four years have created a gap, a gap between board members, a gap between the staff and the board, a gap which pits neighbor against neighbor to improve and maintain park resources. Crisis in Leadership - The new Park Board sits at a crossroads - do they continue business as usual and slide further down the slope into bickering and contention, back room politics and side deals? Or do they take the opportunity to mend the fences and publicly propose (and execute!) a grand vision for our great city parks for the next four years? The Challenge - Challenge Bob F. & Marie H. and the other Park Board members to present their vision with timetable to the city and its inhabitants. Post it on the issues page. Have Steve Brandt publish it in the Strib. Attend regular neighborhood meetings. Publish your board meeting and committee minutes on your web site. Communicate your plan on solving these and other issues, directing the Park Board staff and interested neighbors to work together to invest in the future, creating something greater than the whole. The time for campaign slogans is over. We The People have given you the keys to our Parks for the next 4 years - where are We going to go? KtW> Kurt Waltenbaugh ECCO, Ward 10. [EMAIL PROTECTED] ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2002 10:50 PM Subject: [Mpls] 6th PARK DISTRICT ELECTION -- Get over it! _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
