Here is the context and the content of the controversy about the Wirth House:
From: STAR TRIBUNE (Mpls.-St. Paul) Newspaper of the Twin Cities
Headline: Gift to park employees challenged // Free memberships in
association may violate law
Date: 07/02/02
Section: NEWS
Page: 03B
Edition: METRO
Byline: Steve Brandt; Staff Writer
Length: 13.9
Subject: minneapolis;employee;park;building;law;ethics
Slug: PARK02
About 150 Minneapolis park employees may have run afoul of a
state law by accepting free memberships in a state association that
rents the house that used to be occupied by park superintendents. The
1994 law prohibits public employees from accepting most gifts
from people or entities with a direct financial interest in their
decisions. The free memberships "might well be improper," said
state Sen. John Marty, DFL-Roseville, who was one of the law's
sponsors. A formal park system policy also prohibits employees from
receiving anything of value from a person or association with which
the park system does business. The Minnesota Recreation and Park
Association, which has leased
the superintendent's house since 1997, values the 150 memberships
at $19,000 annually. The association is a professional organization
for park and recreation workers. Assistant Park Superintendent Mike
Schmidt says the benefits of
membership include a newsletter and training sessions for park
employees. He maintained that the law's restrictions apply only to
gifts from lobbyists. Nonetheless, following a Star Tribune inquiry,
the park system
said that the top six park officials, including Superintendent Mary
Merrill Anderson, now will pay their own memberships. Schmidt said
"we thought it was better if we stepped back at this level." The
state association disclosed the free memberships after the
Park Board was criticized by some for not charging enough rent. The
association pays $9,000 annually and said it pays another $1,000
voluntarily for maintenance. It described the free memberships as
an added value of the lease, although the lease does not mention them.
The lease dates to 1997, after David Fisher, then the park
superintendent, decided he didn't want to live in the house any
more. The house was built in Lyndale Farmstead Park in 1910 to
entice Theodore Wirth to Minneapolis, and it was the place where
the legendary superintendent and his staff ultimately sketched many
of the designs for popular city parks. Jon Gurban, the state
association's executive director, called it
"an incredible stretch" to connect the free memberships and the
law. He said his group has solved an issue for the park system by
occupying a deteriorating building. The park system installed air
conditioning, replaced single-pane windows, improved insulation and
refinished floors. The association paid the first $5,000, and the
Park Board paid the balance. Schmidt said he didn't recall the amount.
The original lease was for two years, and the association began a
second three-year extension Monday. The Park Board must pay $10,000
if it wishes to buy out the lease
before it expires in 2005. The Minneapolis Park Legacy Society has
been lobbying to use the house's first floor for exhibits on park
system history. .
Written by - Steve Brandt at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or
612-673-4438.
In my humble opinion this was and is a bad financial deal for the Park Board and
citizens. This no bid, cozy relation and lack of process and exchange of gifts is
indicative of insider deals.
We also have an interesting quote from Jon Gurban.
Thanks,
Scott Vreeland Seward
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