At the risk of being a wet blanket, I am skeptical of Mr Martin's program. While his heart may be in the right place, his methods cause me to be suspicious. I, like many others in the community, have tried to talk to John about working with one of the existing organizations to accomplish his goals, but John wants to go it alone.
If he plans on taking over the vacant lot at 26th and Knox, I am afraid he is going to be in for a fight since that is the site of the one only community garden in Jordan. We are already working to obtain that site on a permanent basis. The last time I saw John's set-up, he was located at 26th and Girard in a vacant lot there. If he spent $1000 on the tents and stuff he has there, then he got taken, badly. I also doubt that tents are going to be much good in a couple of weeks. I believe the lot he is sitting on belongs to the MCDA. If that is the case, their disposition policy states that the lot will be used for housing. Unlike the lot at 25th and Knox, the one at Girard is a good sized lot and would be well suited to housing. On August 29th, John collected alot of school supplies from the community as well as money that was to be turned over to the schools for supplies. I have not heard nor was it mentioned in the article, what school got those supplies and cash. Perhaps being assured that they did indeed find their way into the hands of school children would help me believe John is on the up and up. In the meantime, I am afriad will remain a skeptic. Anne McCandless Jordan 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. ________________________________ 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
