THE BUCKTHORN MENACE ON DISPLAY
On exhibit until fall 2006
Winchell Trail near West River Parkway 24th Street
Down the bank on the Winchell Trail in Seward Neighborhood, some
intimidating visitors stand sentry amidst the leaf litter and barren trees
overlooking
the Mississippi River. A
I and many others have been working on keeping year round programming and
facilities at Peavey Park. In a process designed to gather community input,
there is a School Board meeting about the building disposition, scheduled:
Monday,
Dec. 5, 7-9 p.m.,
Andersen Open,
1098 Andersen Lane
One of the most fascinating pieces of our Minneapolis History is open today.
Across from the LRT or part of a lovely walk through Minnehaha Park...This
is the first wood frame house west of the Mississippi and the birthplace of
Minneapolis.
Thanks,
Scott VreelandSeward
An Early
As a Park Commissioner who will inherit a 2006 budget from the current
board, I have followed the process closely.
I am generally supportive of the changes and additions that are evolving and
very appreciative of Commissioner Erwin's work to move this process forward.
I also agree with him
As a newly elected official to serve as a Park Board Commissioner, I have
lots of thoughts about campaign finance. Even in the small fish bowl of city
elections, we have a terrible system with too much money and not enough voters.
We are too tolerant of a system where buying influence is
I would like Minneapolis to look at regulating pesticide use by homeowners,
businesses and commercial applicators as a way of mitigating the poisonous
soup we are poring down our drains into our rivers and lakes.
I have been following Toronto's very aggressive plan to regulate all
The Alley newspaper did some excellent coverage of the Peavey Park saga and
the community desire to keep this park safe and open.
We cannot let gangs be the only youth workers in this park.
We cannot turn our backs on the community investment in improving this park.
We cannot abandon all
I wish I could vote for Jason Stone.
Rick Kuhlmann wrote
So my question is:
How are you Mr. Stone, or any candidate for PB for that matter, going to
actually change what is going on inside the MPRB?
I think saying change is needed and bringing about that change are two
different
In less than a week, I might have to say we instead of they. So in what
might be a last shot as an outsider, let me try to pin down another source of
potential controversy.
The Park Board is launching a $20,000 ad campaign-promoting the Park Board
and has produced a 20 minute DVD for
Why were there police and Fire trucks at Matthews Park?
To lead the Halloween Parade.
Angels, Skeletons, John Lennon, a bag of jelly beans, the little match girl,
Fred Flintstone, a girl that wandered in from the prairie, locomotives and
many other well disguised parents and kids marched
Rick Kuhlmann asked:
1. What is LGA?
2. What is the JUMP IN program? I tried a search on the Park Board website
and got nothing.
LGA is Local Government Aid is money from the legislature- that has in the
past really helped the city, parks, and libraries. It really relates to
prioritizing
It has been really painful to watch the Park Board budget process so far. I
say this not to get on anybody's case or question anybody's motivation.
The basic premise is completely wrong.
It reminds me of an old joke.
On a dark night a man is obviously looking for something under a
In what I think is a brilliantly perceptive commentary about the stone Arch
Bridge proposal by Shawne FitzGerald, I would add - Why did staff recommend a
no bid process for the selection of caterers for Stone Arch rental events?
I have worked on two recent projects related to the MPRB bid
Q: What is a charette? Is this a word regularly used in Minneapolis?
A: It is like a chatauqua with paper and pictures. It is a word that is used
regularly to describe a group planning process where usually some folks with
some specific expertise work on developing a plan with detailed
I have been working on getting funding for Buckthorn removal in Seward for
several years. I want to thank the Park Board environmental and forestry crews
and the great volunteers who showed up to haul out this invasive species from
the river gorge.
In one area there were 28 ft. trees and
I have been talking to folks and meeting many people.
Here are some comments that I have heard on the Park Board District 3
campaign trail.
Can you help find a place on the upper river for the Urban Boat Builders?-
these are the folks that build wooden boats with inner city kids.
The ideas of reform or strategic planning without context may seem vague to
some folks. But here is what the status quo is in my District.
What residents want are bathrooms, services in their parks and to see broken
things get fixed and to be able to know what is going on. In my District,
How much taller we are when we stand on the shoulders of giants.
I attended the tour of the Wirth House this last Saturday along with
800-1000 others.
The contributions of Theodore Wirth and his family are more than interesting
history. Knowing about this important place is a real incentive
The current budget process for the 2006 Park Board budget is a clear example
of why reform is necessary.
The sad thing is that there has yet to be a discussion about there being a
problem with the process.
We have a house that is falling down, but the board is only rearranging the
I was there at an Above the Falls Citizen Advisory Committee meeting when
there was a discussion of RR land that should have been parkland being sold to
a private developer. Councilmember Johnson chastized the Park Board and
called for reform in how the Park Board communicates with the
To Roberta Englund and others who have signed the People For Independent
Parks Manefesto
which includes...a self appointed group of watchdogs has attempted to
interject a
massive dose of politics into the park elections to serve a narrow
agenda based on the personal disagreements of
It has been a great challenge and taken over 5 years to find a way to fund
this Buckthorn removal in the Mississippi River Gorge Forest in Seward. First
I had to convince the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization to fund
an annual stewardship fund ($250,000) and then I had to find
The corrupting influence of money in politics is a great challenge to our
democracy. On a local level we are somewhat sheltered from the obscene amounts
of money required in national elections by local campaign contribution
limits. But we still have problems both legal and ethical.
In the
Need help figuring out who to vote for all those independent boards?
Check out the KFAI website
_http://www.kfai.org/programs/locnews/2005elec/2005elec.htm_
(http://www.kfai.org/programs/locnews/2005elec/2005elec.htm)
Thanks,
Scott Vreeland Seward
REMINDERS:
1. Be civil! Please read the NEW
Concerning Bluff Street Park
Toni Hauser wrote.
Its amazing what one can find through expending a small amount of energy.
_http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/hazardous/sites/hen
nepin/mplsgswrk0996.pdf_
(http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/hazardous/sites/hennepin/mplsgswrk0996.pdf)
I attended the last Park Board Meeting to follow two planning processes- the
Phase 1 above the falls plan- which was the result of a year and a half
citizen advisory committee process and the open time presentation of the
Gasworks
Bluff task force.
While the Phase 1 process went
Tony Scallon wrote:
Scott, I neither defended Marie Hauser nor did I come out against the
neighbors
proposal. I raised environmental and financial concerns. Please review the
tape.
I try very hard to be accurate and am willing to correct any errors I make.
I think Tony Scallon
I have been following the issue of what should happen at the Bluff Street
Park and have talked to many folks who would like to see this site improved as
a natural area.
I have also spoken to Commissioners and staff about future plans for this
site.
Generally, It seems like there is a
I have worked on graffiti issues for more than six years. I have removed
hundreds of tags in my neighborhood and been involved in the city's efforts to
respond to the problem.
Again, the courts are the weak link in the chain of events. There are
taggers that have done hundreds of thousands
I don't know a lot about the details or past history of Laverne Turner's
football program in East Phillips. But it seems there is considerable room for
a
cooperative effort of a worthwhile inner city sports program for kids and
the mission of the Park Board to provide for recreational
I have decided to add to the visual clutter of our fair city and plant a
bunch of lawn signs in Park District # 3. It's kind of a tradition like things
on a stick at the state fair. And for all those folks who live on corners and
have to shovel all that extra snow, now they have great
When I look closely at Park Board process, I see problems:
Parliamentary procedure:
The discussion at the planning committee on August 3rd is an incoherent free
for all of amendments and motions and statements. In the end a motion was
passed, but because Chair Fine ran the meeting so poorly
I am a Park Board candidate who has spoken about the over commercialization
of Park properties.
There are some commercial ventures that make sense and some that don't. What
is lacking at the Park Board is an open discussion of the criteria of
bringing in commercial ventures and a ctizen
The Park board has a Standards and Conduct Committee which IMHO has not
addressed either.
The Park Board is not bound by the city's efforts to improve transparency
and ethical conduct.
And never has any majority Commissioner addressed the unethical amount of
financial support and organized
I have written about dealing with the Park Board on some issues where the
befuddling lack of logic is both intriguing and problematic.
The live broadcast of recent Park Board usually ends abruptly, in mid
sentence at 8 PM.
I actually watch the live broadcast when I can't attend and I sent
The City has a hotline for spills- but emergency spills should be part of
the 911 system and can be reported by anyone and should be reported
immediately (even if there is incomplete info as to source or kind of material
spill)
From the city website/environmental management..
Spill and
Humor, especially satire, sarcasm, or irony is often not well suited to
email communication.
I started a thread about whether library candidates CARRY books around and I
am interested in who would be the best candidates and what other list
members think.
Some of the Library candidates have
I wasn't able to attend the Library Board debate last night. Who won?
I have listened to many speeches by Library Board candidates and been
following their campaigns.
Come to think of it, I have never seen a Library Board candidate with a
book...Hmmm
And as far as I can remember, which may
The live Park Board broadcast ends at 8 pm often abruptly in the middle of a
meeting.
The cost of broadcasting more of the meeting, say until 9 pm would be an
additional $40 for each meeting.
.
I am donating $40 so that the next meeting can be broadcast until 9pm.
In my humble opinion, if
I agree with the observations of Barry Clegg.
The 50 people who spoke were indeed passionate because they care about what
happens and firmly believe that what they think is the right decision for the
best interests of the city.
What is really sad in this process is that all this passion
Curiouser and Curiouser. You might as well say I see what I eat is the
same as I eat what I see. ( Alice in Wonderland)
I have been writing about the Park board and looking for a metaphor that
describes the true oddness of what I am being told. Yes I am running for Park
Board, and my words
Dear Commissioner Hauser and issues list readers,
There are many challenging decisions facing the Park Board, including how to
proceed with the proposed DeLaSalle project. I am concerned about the
potential illegality of Board actions- concerning this and the Saint Anthony
Parkway Master
Putting aside the larger question of whether a football stadium should be
located on Nicollet Island, I have serious concerns about the shared use
agreement that is being brought before the Park Board Commissioners, Wed. July
20th.
_http://www.minneapolispark
Jim Graham wrote about these wonderful buildings at Fort Snelling that are
great historical and architectural structures that need to be saved. They are
close to the LRT and could be used for a variety of public purposes, workforce
housing, or housing for the homeless.
Jim wrote:
We have
I work on water quality issues and have followed, with interest, the
stormwater utliity fee.
The following is from a summary prepared for council members and forwarded
to my neighborhood group from my council member.
From the Engineering Dept.
Disputes:
As of July 1st we had received 674
As I sat through a 5 1/2 hour Park Board Meeting, I had plenty of time to
reflect on some of the problems at the Park Board and how they occur.
There has been a lot of conversation about the Park Board on this list and I
am sure it can be confusing to follow all this.
So here is a specific
I was able to go the Park Board and get more information about the Eloise
Butler buffer issue and what is on the agenda.
There were problems with getting the agenda posted online. It is now posted.
There is a public hearing about the Saint Anthony Parkway Regional Park
Master Plan Wed. July
I am really grateful to have this issues list. Thanks also to David Brauer
and Scott Russell for the work they do to unfold the mysterious secrets of
park planning and process.
Concerning the damage proposed to Eloise Butler wildflower sanctuary, David
posted the following article in the SW
My neighbor brought over a flyer about how the Park Board Planning Committee
will be meeting July 6th to eliminate the buffer of natural plants around
the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden. As a functioning bird sanctuary, a green
buffer around this part of the park seems essential.
If this
In today's Star Tribune there is a great article (for multiple reasons)
about one of my fellow Seward Neighborhood Group Board members, Richard
LaFortune
who is also Anguksuar.
Richard is the Grand Marshal for the Pride Parade.
As much as I have been critical of the Strib and their coverage
David Brauer wrote: The difference between 10 stories and 13 is trivial. I
favor density.
He was referring to the growing pains of Uptown and the discussions on this
list about appropriate development.
As a member of the Above the Falls Citizen Advisory Committee, I am very
aware of how a
I was having trouble sleeping and thought that the perfect remedy would be
to read Park Board minutes and if that didn't work surely a web rebroadcast
would surely do the trick.
What I found was a really strange collection of stuff and a really
inconsistent recording of board actions.
Dear Peter Ginder, Acting Deputy City Attorney
I am writing to you and to the Minneapolis Issues List Forum to ask for a
legal opinion about the City's role in prosecuting candidates who campaign in
Minneapolis Parks.
From what I have read, the City Attorney is responsible for prosecuting
I am disappointed with the inability of a majority of the current Park
commissioners to come up with a solution for a policy for campaigning in the
Parks. I only have Chris Johnson's report to figure out what happened after the
cameras went off. But if his report is correct, what is
The Matthews Park pool is filled with water, kids, and that great spouting
whale, the playground is filled with parents and kids and there are folks
sitting under the trees in the shade, basketball players and some kids
practicing
on the ball fields. I love our parks and really appreciate
First, I want to thank Craig Cox and his Ballot Box for giving us a rich and
interesting commentary on our Minneapolis campaigns.
As a Park Board Candidate I was very interested in Superintendent Gurban's
reply to the Pearl Park Incident with Jason Stone.
From the Observer: In Ballot Box:
What's wrong with the Park Board?
The Minneapolis Parks have been the social, cultural, and political center
of our city in many ways and on many occasions. We have a great history of
political speech in our parks. Surely the current Park Board Commissioners
should see what a huge blunder it
Earth worms and night crawlers make excellent bait and are cheap and usually
easy to find in our own back yards.
What many folks don't know is that these worms are actually alien invaders
that are a threat to our forest ecology.
In Minneapolis, we can see evidence of earthworm damage in the
I mixed medians. I listed median income- a statistical middle value
David Brauer is listing the mean or average. The Kenwood median income is
$103,019
The mean is the household income average which is $151,465.
So I am listing different numbers than David Brauer but I used his Kenwood
Despite hours of bitter debate, local government aid cuts of $28 million to
Minneapolis and St. Paul remained in the bill, as did a proposal that would
allow a minority of property owners to trigger levy referenda via postcard,
and a proposed $66 million reduction of the renters' credit.
Minneapolis voters get to select three at large and one district Park Board
Commissioner.
With the DFL convention this coming Saturday and Annie Young the lone Green
Party Park Board Candidate, I am wondering if list members have clear
favorites in the at large race for the convention and
My campaign manager asked Park Board Candidates to weigh in on how to make
the MPRB more transparent. Jim Bernstein's answers were great and really a
template for a better Park Board.
The Park Board is transparency challenged in a number of ways.
To Jim's list I would add:
A budget with
Do you live in Seward Neighborhood?
You can be part of an exciting new program called Sierra Neighborhoods,
focused on improving water quality using enjoyable, tangible tactics right in
your own home and neighborhood! Come to our kickoff house party in Seward
Neighborhood on Thursday,
Emma Riese asked about a tidy list of DFL candidates seeking endorsement.
Nothing particularly tidy..a variety of line ups:
From the Observer
_http://www.mplsobserver.com/news.php?action=fullnewsid=80_
(http://www.mplsobserver.com/news.php?action=fullnewsid=80)
For all candidates, an
Wow, what an amazing day to be working and playing outside. It was a great
Mayday gathering with exploding Hummvees and the return of the Tree of Life.
The parade and ceremony are the ultimate ode to cardboard and wheat paste,
with
such great ingenuity, imagery, and passion and humor.
This
I am a candidate for Park Board. In order to speak credibly about Park
issues, I need information from the Park Board and Commissioners about a
variety
of subjects. I know Commissioners personally and have a good working
relationship with many folks on the Park Board staff.
Even with these
I thank Becca Vargo Daggett for the thoughtful and detailed post. I think in
many ways we agree. In our different ways we are both saying we need to look
at the big picture.
_http://www1.umn.edu/systemwide/strategic_positioning/pdf/SP_Task_Force_Execut
ive_Summary.pdf_
There are a number of recent Park projects where the Park Board has not
protected the public's money well or not well enough in my humble estimation.
Having the benefit of hindsight is a great advantage. But at least we ought
to use the mistakes of the past to inform the future.
Three
I have read the comments about eliminating the General College at the
University of Minnesota.
( Many years ago, I spent 3 years in graduate school at the U studying the
teaching of teaching and the anthropology of university sub- cultures and was
a graduate teaching assistant, teaching
Let me preface this by saying that I attended the League of Women Voters
forum about Minneapolis Government. I was most engaged by the comments of
Peter
Hutchinson and Chuck Leer, the developer at the end of the table. Peter
Hutchinson was saying that having looked at many cities, good
New Trails and park improvements of the Upper river:
_http://www.minneapolisparks.org/documents/design/AboveFalls.pdf_
(http://www.minneapolisparks.org/documents/design/AboveFalls.pdf)is the
work of a
citizen task force working with the Park Board and Close Landscape architects
on
a
I testified at the Met Council about the cuts to bus service. The testimony
that day was eloquent and heart wrenching, with both pleas to not cut
particular routes and not to abandon effective mass transit when it is clearly
the
right thing to do.
These public hearings are really a
The Park Board Program for summer employment for teenagers is being almost
completely eliminated. The 150 kids for this program work for minimum wage,
working in the park system. They work approx. 63 hours every two weeks with 4
hours a week spent on educational activities. These kids are
The redistricted wards can be found on the city site:
_http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/about/maps/Wards06.pdf_
(http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/about/maps/Wards06.pdf)
The new Park Board Districts:
_http://www.minneapolisparks.org/documents/about/2005_Districts.pdf_
Moms, Dads, and kid shepherds,
You should check out the North Mississippi Regional Park and the
Interpretive Center in the Camden Neighborhood. Check out the link for their
cool pool
_http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=4parkid=419_
To add fuel to an already incendiary issue concerning the DeLaSalle Stadium
issue:
The online petition sent to the Mayor and Park Board Commissioners in
support of the DeLaSalle stadium expansion states:
...that representatives from DeLaSalle, a hallmark on Nicollet Island
since 1900,
I have just talked to the Fire Marshall Dave Dewall and he has talked to the
Chief about an official finding. There is no official finding, or official
letter sent to DeLaSalle about this issue from the Chief.
But trying to look at the big picture and to try to make sure I am not
RE:Nick Coleman's article today
Nicollet Islanders don't want to share
_http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/5301636.html_
(http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/5301636.html)
Invoking racist motives to those who disagree with the expansion of
DeLaSalle onto parkland is only part of the
As an interested citizen and as a member of several organizations concerned
with water quality, I have been following the progress of the implementation
of the stormwater utility fee.
I am working with the Northstar chapter of the Sierra Club on a pilot
program that could provide some
I have really enjoyed learning about the history of Minneapolis and I live
close to the Winchell Trail in the Mississippi River Gorge. Newton Horace
Winchell and his family were really important figures in our local history. I
spent a couple of years of researching the Winchell story and
I have helped raise substantial sums of money for improvements on Park
property and programs.
Some of this as President of the Seward Neighborhood Group some with the
Mississippi Watershed Management Organization and some as an individual willing
to raise money and write grants. I have been
I have a theory about all the work the Star Tribune did about the complexity
of Minneapolis and its independent boards and citizen commissions.
The real reason that the Strib wants to streamline these nodes of democracy
in action is not so that the legislature can understand us better. It
I attended the last Park Board meeting. The two topics taking up the most
time on the agenda were log rolling and the schematic design of the U of M
boat
house on Park land. Despite the time spent on these items, the Board should
have spent more time examining some of the most basic and
It is great that returning phone calls and answering email are campaign
issues. It really is an important element of public service.
Tony Scallon wrote, I think the first point of ethics Jason Stone and Scott
Vreeland should recommend is
to respond to all constituents even those they
If I were running for Park Board, I could not ask for a better example of
something that should not have happened at a Park Board meeting.
During last night's meeting (February 2nd) the Standards and Conduct
Committee of the
Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board passed a motion to change
I have a really wild speculation, I mean a really daring and challenging
idea.
There are legitimate disagreements about many Park issues that have been
discussed on the list and many choices that involve priorities of how our
limited dollars should be spent.
Please tell me if you
The Strib still covers Minneapolis issues so I am claiming the conduct of
our paper to be a Minneapolis issue. One thing that concerns me is the
chopping
off of people's heads. I have noticed a growing trend that at least in
newspaper photos that the tops of our heads are receding in
I like miniature golf. It is a fun activity that can be played by young and
old. But as I look at a range of Park Board problems, I wonder how miniature
golf became a commercial investment worthy of a $100,000 investment because
it will generate income.
Who was whispering in whose ear about
I attended the Park Board meeting today about what was, or wasn't, canceled
concerning an Earth Day Watershed clean up. I know what I will be doing-
organizing a cleanup event at E. 24th St. and West River Road and I know that
the
City of Minneapolis will be picking up the slack to
I have been a site coordinator for the Earth Day Annual Watershed Cleanup
for 10 years. It is a great event that pulls tons of trash out of our
watersheds
near the shorelines of our lakes and rivers.
I just got notice (second hand) that the Minneapolis Park and Recreation
Board has
I probably have enough problems without trying to write the history of Cedar
Riverside, the topic of at least one doctoral thesis and potentially the
subject of many interesting novels. But I can't just let this one slide
Concerning the award for devastating architecture, the
Maybe we need to bring the resident donkey back to kick all the bad ideas
off the Island.
Thanks,
Scott Vreeland Seward
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
Gregory Luce asked
can we not figure out inefficiencies and deal with them? a fleet of
cars, equipment service needs,
communication requirements, payroll and administration, etc. Can't we fold
some of those functions into shared city functions so that we don't
duplicate them on much
One of the reasons that I am running for the Park Board is that I am very
much concerned about the Park Board focus on increasing for profit ventures
and the privatization of public resources.
The parks are not here for the purpose of making money for parks or
individuals, but for
I am a Park Board Candidate ( District #3) and an advocate for an
independent Park Board.
Gregory Luce asked about the need for an independent Park Board:
Whenever this question is asked--and asked simply to understand the
supporters of a separate board--the answer generally is 'because
Aaron Klemz asked: can someone explain what the benefit is
to having an independent Park Police?
I think it is a similar question to why don't we just have State Police. All
Minnesota Police could all have the same uniforms, all drive the same cars
and all have the same
When Strib reporter, Steve Brandt, was reassigned from the city beat to
cover Minneapolis Public schools, I talked to his supervisors who told me that
they had a plan to improve coverage of city issues and that if I gave them a
little time I would see better coverage.
I said that it would be
Yesterday during the afternoon there was an amazingly wonderful event. There
was a benefit at the Cedar Cultural Center to help out a local legend and
musician Bill Hinkley pay some hospital bills. Within this crowd of aging
hippies and dancing children there was incredible support for
In a recent post I said that Commissioner Young gave a vociferous apology
for the rude conduct of the Park Board when it told some members of the public
to leave the reception after the annual meeting. I chose the wrong adjective.
Vociferous implies loud, or strident or vehement insistence.
I am not sitting here waiting for the Park Board to screw up just so I can
point out problems. As a citizen and a Park Board candidate I need the Park
Board to be a well run, well managed organization that includes and involves
the
public.
I listened last night to a vociferous apology by
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