On April 16 over 150 people attended the Camden Alliance of Neighborhoods (CAN!) Meeting at Creekview Park, hosted by the Shingle Creek Neighborhood Association (SCNA), to listen and give feedback to a presentation by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) and Commissioner Jon Olson on the Shingle Creek Lake concept plan.
The plan was originally introduced at the March SCNA Meeting where Olson and MPRB staff brought three presentation boards of the lake concept for neighborhood residents to view. [Drawing of the lake plan was in the April Camden News - note that there is only one MPRB Shingle Creek Lake concept plan to date.] It is one of 76 city-wide concept plans the MPRB reviewed at their January retreat. Four of those 76 plans were touching the Camden community: Construct one of six artificial turf fields at Folwell Park; restoration and upgrade of Victory Memorial Drive; upgrade of Webber Park with picnic pavilions, beach area, water play feature, pool and restoration gardens. By far one of the largest of the 76 conceptual plans is "Development of Shingle Creek Community Center and new Northside lake."
SCNA Board Member Jeff Johnson welcomed the crowd, talked about the history of CAN! and outlined the process of presentation, questions and answers, and then a later chance for more community input. MPRB Commissioner Jon Olson was introduced and MPRB Director of Planning and Project Management, Judd Rietkerk gave a short overview powerpoint presentation.
Commissioner Olson emphasized to the crowd "...I cannot stress this enough. I by no means want to run somebody out of their homes...I don't want people to leave." For over 30 minutes of questions and answers Olson reassured residents that, "This is a concept. It's an idea...This is just the beginning. Nothing is decided....There is no approved plan. There is no money yet." Olson discussed the lengthy process, "What would need to happen is we would need to go through a planning process. Get a plan that the community supports and approves." Near the end of the discussion period and after over 30 questions, he reiterated, "It's your community. I can't go anywhere without this community's support."
A two-page handout entitled "Neighborhood Revitalization & Shingle Creek Restoration" was also distributed which covered the MPRB's vision for planning for the future, opportunities that would stimulate community development, and defining the idea. "The hope is that by starting the discussions with a visible idea, we can work together to develop a plan that will positively impact future generations." Olson also emphasized throughout the meeting that there are currently no funds for this concept, this is merely a concept plan, and that it's the beginning of the dialogue to get community input about what amenities we could look to have for the Northside. He indicated it could take many years and many community input meetings to develop a plan, then a plan would need to be drafted and approved, a feasibility study done, and then funding sought. "This is about your community. This is about me asking you to engage in a community planning process to see if there is a plan that we can agree on that is of benefit to you."
City Council President Johnson (4th Ward), who was in Portland on city-related issues, sent her aide Sara Goodnough to the CAN! meeting to read a letter. Johnson states in the letter:
"...The most disturbing part of the [Shingle Creek lake] concept is the idea of removing 250 homes. The cost of such a project could easily exceed $50 million, just for acquisition. I cannot imagine where funds like this could possibly come from....Yes, we need to clean up Shingle Creek, it is impaired water. But this concept is an over reach. We need to work on our riverfront in North Minneapolis and we need to look at the Park Board's own master plan and determine how to get park land in the areas they have identified as underserved...Thank you for being such good neighbors and caring about the future of the community."
There were 97 submitted questions (on cards) from attendees. A petition to end the concept plan and open a community dialogue was signed by 29 residents of Shingle Creek and Kingsley Commons. Also someone submitted a three-page hand written letter.
After the question and answer portion of the evening, a show of hands poll was taken asking folks to rank (from 1 to 5) how they felt about the concept plan: 54 percent of the audience ranked the concept the lowest, basically stating they prefer the plan not be pursued; 8 percent thought the plan should continue to be on the far back planning burner; 15 percent were in the middle but needed a lot more information; 21 percent liked bits and pieces and believed there should be more conversations; and only 1 percent showed support for the concept.
SCNA will continue to follow this issue. Residents were encouraged to contact Commissioner Olson at 612-230-6443 ext. 2 with their questions or concerns. For more info about SCNA and CAN! go to www.scna-mpls.org.
Twenty years ago before the birth of the Minneapolis Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP), the City had broad-based planning districts and elected officials were entrusted to make decisions for the benefit of their districts. SCNA, a nonprofit organization like the six other neighborhoods in the Camden Alliance of Neighborhoods (CAN!), got its start planning, educating, promoting, advocating for our neighborhoods with help through the NRP program and it's funding. Viable neighborhood organizations are unique community assets for the City of Minneapolis "serving a basic City service" in helping monitor city planning, processes and opportunities, and helping educate and inform residents. The current independent structure of the NRP provides neighborhoods a continued structure for residents to work with elected officials, city departments, and various other partners to establish neighborhood priorities through their approved action plans; to respond more quickly at a neighborhood level and to remain as vital resources in the heart of the communities they most affect daily.