I thought I would report on a few Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board issues that I was reminded of last night by a visit by MPRB Member Walter Dziedzic to a pitifully small meeting of a nonprofit organization that I have been associated almost as long as I've lived in Minneapolis.
The Pratt Community Education Resource Center, Inc., I think, or Pratt Council for short has been around since 1980 or so when Minneapolis Public Schools last attempted to raze schools and a group of folks in Southeast did all they could to stop MPS from knocking down our historically significant school building. The school was gone, but the Pratt Community Education Center was born and the building saved. Pratt Council struggles with all the same issues as any group that raises and tries to spend money on its mission; in the Council's case this mission is literacy and the goings on at the Pratt Community Education Center along with whatever charitable needs of the community exist that we can justify to ourselves given our mission and SOP for administration. We've had a fairly small bank balance over the years, ranging from a few thousand in the beginning to just under $40,000 today, about $30,000 of which is committed at the moment. We will probably spend the remaining balance and hopefully raise the difference again in the coming year to support our ongoing obligations: we start our annual fund drive in a few weeks (501 c 3). We provide some funding to other organizations activities and work closely with MPRB staff at Luxton as well as the Luxton Park Council, but we're hardly Jim Lupient caliber funding--we do our best to help hold things together when times are tough. BM Dziedzic came to introduce the new director at Luxton Park, Eric Cherland (excuse the spelling, if wrong) and proposed that Pratt Council donate money to cover funding for a Halloween celebration at Luxton. The form and procedure for funding from Pratt Council was explained to Dziedzic and the Cherland; the latter will return to request any shortfall from the budgeted activities at our next meeting that otherwise would be drawn from other Luxton budget items. Chances are the request will be fulfilled within reason. Dziedzic mentioned a similar problem at Logan Park and if folks have events at their local parks that need funding, Pratt Council, once it approves the funding, will probably write their check to the Minneapolis Finance Dept. for the Luxton event; groups or individuals could do the same for their local events, I suppose. Before the meeting, Dziedzic commented on LuAnn Wilcox lawn signs in the neighborhood being placed by Phyllis Kahn; she did indeed distribute them, I think, cause I got mine from her. Dziedzic also mentioned that the DeLaSalle project has moved forward, but I'll let others deal with that here. It all reminded me of my posts last June regarding the mysterious MPRB policy for campaigning in the parks exposed by Jason Stone's experience with MPRB Director Jon Gurban. I went to that month's MPRB meeting, my first and last to now, and had two exchanges that can only be described as confrontations. The first was with Gurban, a man as large or larger than me, who blocked my path to the meeting room to which I was directed by the office for a sign-in sheet; it became apparent from the conversation that he thought I was looking for the public speaking sign-up sheet (usually included in the same sheet for those attending and not speaking in public meetings I have attended). I never found any sheet to sign and this was the first meeting a 'Monday before the meeting deadline' was in force for speakers to sign-up. The second confrontation was with Dziezic who bellowed inexplicably to me about a post I wrote to the list regarding finding the campaign policy (it was distributed at this meeting) mentioning his great constituent service; this was apparently taken as sarcasm in discussions Dziezic presumably had with other folks, and I assured him that it was not and the issue was civil rights, but the experience left an indelible impression of Dziezic on me. I am voting for LuAnn Wilcox to fill the District 1 MPRB seat that Dziezic now occupies. I thank him for his superior constituent service and hope that he continues his community involvement should he not prevail, but I cannot ever vote for him again because of the belligerence I felt from him and his chosen director last spring that I revisit with every further Dziezic contact I experience. The only reason he has a DFL endorsement is because we, the delegates at the city convention left to vote on MPRB endorsement, voted to let a new delegate called from his home to the convention for the purpose of voting for Dziezic on the endorsement. We need a new MPRB and they must choose a new director. I think Minneapolis folks should spit their 'pips' in the trash and vote for the Minneapolis Citizens for Park Board Reform's endorsed candidates for MPRB. I'm not a member or the latter group, but I agree with most all of their positions. Check them out at: http://www.parkboardreform.org ; and don't confuse them with seeds you spit in the garbage. Bill Kahn speaking for himself only from Prospect Park REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact 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 Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@mnforum.org Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
