[snip]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.
TheThink there's any comparable property I can lease for only $9,000 a year? Let's see, large historic home located in a park in a highly desirable neighborhood near a lake for only $750 a month. I'd be lucky to get a one-bedroom apartment in that kind of location for that money.
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.
Jon Gurban, the stateHaving done rehab work on a hundred year old house before, I'd bet the Park Board paid $20,000 to $100,000 for its share of this work. The $5,000 from Gurban's association is a pittance, not the generous "solving an issue" he tries to make it sound like.
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 $10,000I say kick them out at the end of their lease. If we weren't short money, I'd say kick them out now.
if it wishes to buy out the lease before it expires in 2005.
I've been mistakenly on the Minnesota Recreation and Park Association's mailing list for much of the past year. Their missives have been interesting reading. From my perspective, it seems their primary purpose is to lobby and politick for more spending and perks for their members. That's not illegal, but it sure isn't altruistic, either.
Chris Johnson Fulton
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