Finding a Green Way to Govern

This morning, the Transportation and Public Works (TPW) committee approved a layout for the Riverside Avenue reconstruction project. This layout has changed significantly for the better in the month or so since it last came before the committee (compare the old version to the new version ). Among the positive changes: - The bicycle lane going towards downtown now extends all the way to Cedar Avenue, rather than dropping a half-block early. This is possible because the through lane (which goes onto 4th St and has very low volumes) has been combined with the left turn lane onto southbound Cedar. I am confident that this change will work fine for automobiles, as the layout keeps a dedicated right-turn lane onto Cedar northbound - the heaviest movement in this intersection. It will work much better for bicyclists, giving them a safe, dedicated lane all the way through Cedar, connecting to 4th St (and, from there, to the Hiawatha LRT trail). And, as a side benefit, it will work better for...

The intersection of Minneapolis Avenue S and 33rd Ave S is the only uncontrolled intersection in Seward, the only one in Ward 2, and one of the last 10 or so uncontrolled intersections in the whole city . It's a skewed four-way (because Minneapolis is at an angle to the grid) with one one-way leg. We've heard from at least one resident about this intersection over the years. It's confusing, and that confusion could contribute to accidents. Public Works has been putting stop signs up at uncontrolled intersections in Minneapolis since 2004. 33rd and Minneapolis is one of the last . They will be making a recommendation to me about how to signalize this intersection within the next two months. I look forward to working with Seward to come up with a solution that works for everyone.

This week, the Mayor's Office and City Hall is bidding farewell to a Second Ward resident: Cara Letofsky . Cara has been highly valued by me and my colleagues and she, and her good work here, will be greatly missed. Cara has worked in the Mayor's Office as a Policy Aide whose portfolio included, according to the Mayor's website: "Sustainability and environment, planning and urban design, housing and homelessness, neighborhood community development and relations, jobs and workforce development, financial literacy, 2010 census." I have to admit that it was a little bit strange when Cara and I both started our new jobs in January of 2006. We'd just come off of a close-fought campaign against each other for the Second Ward Council seat, a race I won by only a hundred and fifty-one votes. Mayor Rybak had noticed Cara's organizing skill, and he offered her a position in his second administration. In those first few months, it was sometimes difficult to make the ...

The 2011 budget and financial challenges facing our City are the most difficult I have experienced since taking office. By now, all property owners in Minneapolis should have received their notice for proposed property taxes for 2011. Many, if not all, have seen increases over 2010. These property taxes include taxes levied by Hennepin County, Minneapolis Public Schools, the City of Minneapolis and special taxing districts, such as Metro Transit and watershed districts. Understandably, I am most concerned with the City of Minneapolis’ portion. The second of three public hearings on the tax levy and budget was held in November and we heard many concerns about the proposed levy and budget. The biggest concerns related to a cut in funding for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund (from $10 million to 8) and the dramatic increase in property taxes. The typical increase, based on the comments, calls and emails I have received, is between 15 – 18%. Several factors play roles in this, incl...

I submitted the following comments on the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s Metro area Solid Waste Plan . ===== I commend the Pollution Control Agency for undertaking the Metropolitan Solid Waste Management Policy Plan, and thank you for the opportunity to comment. There are many portions of the plan that will be significant steps in the right direction. However, there are also some ways in which the plan’s goals are not aggressive enough, and could lead to some unfortunate missed opportunities. The positive aspects of the plan are almost too numerous to mention. The dual focus on reducing, recycling, and composting and limiting the total waste going to landfills is the right fundamental approach. I commend the MPCA for instituting a ‘floor’ for recycling, composting, and reduction. Many of the strategies laid out in the plan are tremendous ideas. Worth special mention are Extended Producer Responsibility/Product Stewardship; Improving Volume-based Pricing; Mandatory Opportunit...

Second Ward business Dero Bike Racks is having a big month. In early November, they won a 2010 Commuter Choice Award . They received this honor for developing Dero ZAP, a solar powered, wireless, web-based application that allows organizations to reward employees who commute by bicycle. The program was launched within Dero itself, and they now provide a cash incentive of $3 per day to each employee who uses alternative commuting options. Then they moved from their longtime home in the Seward neighborhood to the Southeast Minneapolis Industrial area. One of the reasons they cite for the move is the intercampus transitway trail, which will serve their many employees who bike to work. Congratulations, Dero, and welcome to southeast!

The long awaited “disparities” study to help us understand how women-owned and minority-owned businesses compete for contracts offered by the City and in the private sector is now complete. The Disparity Study looked at the City’s procurement process, the locations and ownership of companies that do business with the city and at the overall marketplace and experiences of women-owned and minority-owned businesses that seek contracts in both the public and private sector. It has confirmed that we continue to have a significant problem with racial and gender discrimination on all levels of the hiring contracting and procurement ladder in the region. Institutional racism and sexism appear to continue to pose serious obstacles in access to contracts in our marketplace. The study also made a number of recommendations to remedy the situation, including the enhancement of current City efforts to fight discrimination and the addition of new initiatives. These initiatives involve both race- and ...

One bright point of an otherwise difficult election was the overwhelming support by the people of Minneapolis for a better way of changing ward boundaries after this year’s census. By the substantial majority of 55% , the voters of Minneapolis rejected the old, overtly politicized process – in which our ward boundaries were drawn by a Redistricting Commission comprised of representatives of the Republican and Independence Parties, which hold no elected offices in Minneapolis at any level – in favor of allowing the Charter Commission to redraw the maps. There is work to do to ensure that the Charter Commission will include diverse voices and viewpoints (geographic, ethnic, and political) when doing their work, and to ensure that the process they use is open, transparent, and inclusive. But I am convinced that this is a major step in the right direction, and I am proud to have started the process a year ago with Council Members Glidden and Benson.

This morning, the Council also authorized Public Works staff to request a variance from the Municipal State Aid standards to go down to an 8 foot parking lane on Riverside Avenue. The typical MSA parking lane width is 10 feet. The width we save will be reallocated to bike lanes, sidewalks and boulevards. The layout approval and the authorization to seek easements (also for wider sidewalks) from nearby property owners were delayed for two weeks in order to give Public Works staff and me a chance to meet with the major institutions along the avenue - Augsburg, Fairview and the U of M - about some concerns that they've communicated very recently. Many of these concerns are things like access during construction, the depth of sidewalks, and other issues not related to the layout, and I want to make clear that we can deal with these concerns later in the process. Some of them are layout related, and I want a chance to make sure that the layout works as well as possible for all users. Th...

This morning, the Council voted to grant up to $80 million in tax exempt multifamily housing entitlement revenue bonds and $1.9 million in from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to the Riverside Plaza renovation project. This project is a very, very big deal, and has been one of the most important issues on the West Bank for most of this year. It has generated more discussion, controversy, and interest than anything I've seen in a long time. At its most basic, this is an affordable housing issue. There are more than four thousand people who rely on the affordable housing provided by Riverside Plaza. Unfortunately, the quality of that housing has been decreasing over time, and its long-term viability was threatened. This project stabilizes and improves the housing for all of these low-income residents. That's a very good thing. The renovation will also employ a significant number of people (200) in an economy that has left many people desperate for work. It will significantly re...

The City gave away more than 250 radon test kits to Minneapolis residents on October 29th. We're now offering the same kits for sale for $9 at Minneapolis Development Review, 250 S Fourth St., Room 300. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S. and the first cause among nonsmokers. More than 21,000 deaths are attributed to radon each year in the U.S. The Minnesota Department of Health estimates that one in three existing Minnesota homes has radon levels that pose a large health risk over many years of exposure. Radon exposure is preventable, and radon problems in homes can be fixed. The first step is to test for radon at home. Radon is an invisible, odorless, radioactive gas that can only be found by testing. I'm glad to see the City taking this major public health threat seriously. Minneapolis residents face an elevated risk of preventable disease and death, and the City needs to do more to publicize the threat, give homeowners the information and tools the...

Seems I was right . The Minnesota judicial system has, in its wisdom, refused to grant the restraining order sought by the Tea Party/Minnesota Majority/Minnesota Voter's Alliance that would have prevented elections officials from doing a vital part of their jobs: preventing campaigning in polling places. However, that doesn't seem to be stopping these folks. As you can read here , they've sent out this advice to their followers: “For now, we are recommending that you proceed with wearing your Election Integrity buttons or Tea Party apparel to the polls, knowing you are within your rights, but don’t allow yourself to be disenfranchised. If you are challenged by an election judge because of what you are wearing, you’ll have a decision to make. You can simply remove or cover the challenged item and you’ll be allowed to vote, or you can refuse and demand your right to vote and the election judge will allow you to vote, while also recording your name and you could be charged w...