Sorry to the list for the duplication -- but I sent before the post was finished.
I got the following the other day from Heritage Homeowners. This is an organization of Homeowners in the Central Neighborhood. >You may have already been informed that the Planning Commission approved >the conditional use permit and variance requested by Unbank. This approval >came in spite of Council Member Lilligren's support of a postponement. A >factor in the approval was the January 29 letter of support from CNIA. This >Commission and other agency�s reliance on CNIA as Central's representative >points to the need for an alternative structure. One that will benefit >homeowners and other residents interested in improving Central. want to >thank all of you that sent e-mails and called the Planning Commission, the >vote was four to three for approval. Thank You, Heritage Neighborhood >Homeowners Association Note: the Planning Commission members who voted for postponement were: Rod Krueger and Annie Young. Thank you to both of these people. Last week Heritage sent the following to the Planning Commission: Dear Planning Commission Members, on your Monday, February 25, 2002 agenda you are scheduled to review a request from Unbank for a conditional use permit and variance. The Heritage Neighborhood Homeowners Association (HNHA) of Central, feels Central Neighborhood Improvement Association (CNIA) did not provide residents adequate prior meeting notice regarding this request. CNIA�s endorsement of this project is not an indication of neighborhood approval. Our Homeowners Association participants are working very hard to improve our neighborhood, and do not feel a check cashing enterprise will aid in that objective. HNHA is opposed to this project, but participants were not afforded an opportunity to express their opinion. As such, HNHA asks the Commission deny Unbank's request or postpone a decision until in conjunction with Council Member Lilligren's office this project is discussed in a neighborhood group meeting. For your information, HNHA is a volunteer staffed nonprofit organization formed by a group of Central Neighborhood homeowners whose aim is to improve the neighborhood through homeowner and property owner accountability. HNHA's intent is to work closely with government agencies and private sector to insure activities and projects are in Central Neighborhood's best interest. Thank You, Heritage Neighborhood Homeowners Association ================================================================== Now historically, when something like this happened with CNIA in the past (before the Blue Crew took over), neighbors did attend the planning commission meeting and spoke against the Park Av Methodist Church having a clinic at the church. CNIA had approved this without asking PAMC to take this to the block club. In this case, the Planning Commission postponed their decision, and asked the church to meet with the Block. CNIA facilitated this meeting -- and the church flyered the neighborhood. The end result was the same, but people got a chance to be heard. Now why am I not surprised that the Planning Commission turned a deaf ear to Councilperson Lilligren's plea for postponement of the Unbank variance based on feedback he received from other neighborhood organizations and individuals? Why am I stunned that city agencies continue to do business with crooked businessmen and criminals? People in central have communicated and continue to communicate to our public officials (both officially in grievances and unofficially in emails, phone calls and letters). MCDA, NRP and our City Council have been getting an abundance of complaints about CNIA's lack of integrity in several areas over the past couple of years. Add that to the audit issue and both MCDA and NRP should indeed have a VERY clear idea that CNIA is neither supported by the neighborhood at large nor an effective leadership tool for steering the development and improvement of Central Neighborhood nor a reliable administering body for large amounts of public funds. Yet, even acknowledging all this, and being asked point-blank to intervene, these city agencies continue to do nothing. Instead, Bob Cooper tells me that we should file a grievance. Well grievances were filed after the elections in May 2000, the special meeting elections in September 2000, and after the annual meeting in May 2001. Grievances by Jennifer Gahnstrom, former board member of CNIA were sent to Bob Miller, Bob Cooper, members of the CNIA board, cnia-chat (where they are archived). As far as I understand, no action has been taken on these grievances by the paid city employees. Shortly after that, former CNIA president Zack Metoyer sent out a "disclaimer" claiming that $100,000 of CNIA's money could not be accounted for. Again, this disclaimer text is available in the CNIA-chat archives. The city officials, Bob Miller and Bob Cooper conveniently hide behind buerocratic procedure. However, the bottom line is I've heard "they don't want to be the bad guys." Well, that's part of what we as taxpayers, and concerned residents, rely on them for. Residents can do all the things we're supposed to do within City procedure, point out conflicts of interest until the sun grows cold, can hold meetings and rally's, can organize ourselves... but as long as our City liasons and advocates refuse to "be the bad guys," put up smoke screens of bueaurocracy and continue to support a failed organization, nothing will change. I still feel as if city officials are using CNIA as a way to say "we are getting the citizen participation" and to pass the buck and avoid accountability. A couple weeks ago, I come home to find a plastic bag on my door handle on the front door. In this plastic bag was a box of toasty oat Cheerios. There was a note this came from the Park Ave Methodist Church foodshelf. I found this incredably insulting from this Church. Just because I live in Central does not mean I need or want handouts. If Park is passing out free cerial willy nilly it suggests that perhaps they have too much money in their foodshelf. This whole "let 'em eat cerial" attitude kind of just summarizes the type service -- and I use the word loosely, that we've gotten from our public officials -- specifically Bob Cooper of MCDA and Bob Miller of NRP. It's an attitude that looks at Central as a low income and troubled neighborhood. It's an attitude that suggests we need to be more and more a neighborhood of social services, rather than a neighborhood of up and coming professionals. It's the attitude that got a Motel on 2nd and Lake suggested as a "job creation" idea. Why not look at how to get more residents in the area matched up with jobs with a career path at Wells Fargo, Allina, and at the Minnesota Workforce Center? >From what I've seen of David Brauer's maps for redistricting -- and I haven't looked at other maps, it looks like Robert Lilligren might be districted out of Central. I don't have a problem with Lake St being the dividing line between wards. In some ways it makes alot of sense. However, if that's the case, I think it speaks strongly to having an election in two years, because the residents in Central will have voted for a person who no longer has the obligation to represent us. Eva Eva Young Central _______________________________________ 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
