Being a board member of the Sheridan Neighborhood Organization who sent a letter to the Park Board to close Gluek Park till it is deemed to be safe and erect signage in Spanish and English to warn of the hazards of asbestos contamination in Gluek Park over a month ago we have not heard what the Park Board plans to do as far as signage goes. There are barricades erected so you cannot drive in but foot traffic, like folks that walk with their children or dogs, can enter the park with no problem with no knowledge that there is any possible danger of being in that park.
I did have a conversation with Commissioner Dziedzic shortly after the letter was sent. He wanted to know where the documentation was that the park was contaminated. I replied that the EPA has found it to be contaminated with asbestos and that the testing we were requesting of the public well in the park was to determine if the ploom from the 30,000 gallon spill of pentachlorophenol in the Shorham had spread that far. The EPA states that pentachlorophenol allowable parts per billion is 1. Several wells in NE have tested at 200 to 300 parts per billion and at least one has tested at over 10,000 parts per billion, according to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) who is in charge of its clean up. I heard from the MDA that the test from the Gulek Park well should be back by mid-May. As I told commissioner Dziedzic, isn't an ounce of prevention worth a pound of cure? Bruce Shoemaker brings up a good question about the up coming river clean up. Is the Park Board in communication with Mississippi Corridor Neighborhood Coalition about the river bank in Gluek Park that hold most of the asbestos contamination in the park and what the hazards of working in that area are? The Park Board was moved to blockade Gluek Park and erect signage about the asbestos contamination when it was found to be contaminated last year. Where are the signs now and where is the communication with the concerned neighbors that requested something be done? We can make our own signs to put up I guess. Tom Taylor 612-788-4252 www.VoteTomTaylor.org "Raise less corn and more hell." Mary Elizabeth Lease -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Annie Young Sent: Thursday, April 29, 2004 11:49 PM To: B Shoe; mpls forum; Gurban, Jon R . Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [Mpls] Gluek Park asbestos follow-up? Bruce - I thought we talked about this on Sunday but since I obviously didn't respond to your satisfaction I wi again forward your concerns to the staff and interim Supt. Gurban. Annie Young citywide Park Commissioner At 12:41 AM 4/30/04 -0500, B Shoe wrote: >I'm sort of surprised that a full week has gone by since my post on the >contamination situation at Gluek Park in northeast Minneapolis, (and the >lack of any signs or real barriers to warn people of the asbestos >contamination), without there being any response whatsoever by the Park >Board or other city officials. This seems unusual. It is obviously a >serious issue, if the federal Environmental Protection Agency is soon to >come in to do a full scale clean-up. I'm sure, based on what has been >done with the residential clean-ups, that they will all be in those >oversized white haz-mat protective suits, they sure think there is a >need for protection when working with this stuff. But kids, bikers, and >hikers are still free to roam through the park without there being any >signage warning of the danger. Again, is it too much to ask that >citizens of Minneapolis be provided with proper warning info about >this? In a couple of weeks the Mississippi Corridor Neighborhood >Coalition will be sponsoring the annual Mississippi riverbank >clean-up--a time when hundreds of volunteers scour the riverbank in >northeast cleaning up trash and debris. Is anything going to be done to >keep people out of the Gluek Park area? Is someone scared of a lawsuit >here? What's going on? > >Speaking of the river, there sure seems to be a lot of signs of beavers >in the city these days. I heard some good tail slapping the other >evening, and signs up and down the riverbank in south Minneapolis, and >north/northeast. > >Bruce Shoemaker >Holland Neighborhood >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. > >For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html >For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract >________________________________ > >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 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. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ 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 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. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ 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
