Message from Council Member Kevin Reich

In May of this year Bicycling magazine named Minneapolis America’s best bike city. They singled out our more than 120 miles of bikeways, many bike amenities and strong, vibrant bicycling community as key factors in their designation.

It’s great to see our City acknowledged as a bicycling hotspot, but it doesn’t mean the job is done. Much work remains to enhance and increase our bikeways. As an example, 2010 and 2011 promise to be big years for Eastside bicycling. Five bike boulevard projects are coming our way – 5th Street NE and the 5th Street SE Bikeway, 22nd Avenue NE, the 18th Ave NE Bikeway and the President’s Bike Boulevard. These bikeways will employ a variety of curb and pavement changes, including landscaped traffic circles, lane striping, pedestrian lights, curb extensions and speed bumps. There will also be some innovative new technologies employed, such as bicycle counters and a new stoplight with bicycle signals. These projects will add approximately 10 new miles to Minneapolis’ bikeways.

Public input remains an essential piece of developing bicycle plans and policies. A draft of the Minneapolis Bicycle Master Plan was released a few weeks ago. This plan establishes goals, objectives, and benchmarks to improve safety and mobility for bicyclists and also increase the number of trips taken by bicycle. It’s available online at http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/bicycles/bicycle-plans.asp. The first of five public meetings was held at Edison High School on August 30.

If you were unable to attend that meeting, you can still make your voice heard by completing the online survey about the Draft plan at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MinneapolisBicycleMasterPlan.

Reduce Energy Use & Save Money

Community Energy Services, a full service residential energy program, has been implemented in several Eastside neighborhoods, including Audubon, Logan Park, SE Como, Waite Park and Windom. This program offers educational workshops, home energy visits, and more to identify simple ways to reduce energy use and save money. Participants have the opportunity to receive up to $400 of materials, including low flow showerheads, compact fluorescent light bulbs, gasket seals and other items for at a cost of $30.

CEE will be issuing an RFP to all neighborhood associations in September to be included in the next phase of the program. If you’re interested in seeing this program come to your neighborhood, encourage your neighborhood association to apply.

Grant Writing Workshop for Neighborhood Groups

As budgets get tighter and resources scarcer, more neighborhood groups have looked to grants from various sources to fund their work. If this is the case in your neighborhood, you may want to check out a free half-day workshop – “Grant Writing for Neighborhood Groups” – that is being sponsored by the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA). The workshop takes place Tuesday, September 28, 8:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, 451 Lexington Parkway N., St. Paul. This free workshop offers the opportunity to network with colleagues from other neighborhood groups, find out about new funding resources, and learn what funders look for in reviewing grant applications. For further information, contact Sara Bielawski at biel0032@umn.edu.

Local Food Resource Hubs

A collaboration of individuals and organizations, including Gardening Matters, Northpoint Health and Wellness Center, St. Olaf Community Campus and City of Minneapolis, are working together to develop neighborhood-based local food resource hubs that would support growing, selling and preserving of food by households, community gardeners, and urban farmers all within their community. This concept was inspired by a presentation by Ashley Atkinson, Greening of Detroit, during the 2010 Community Garden Spring Resource Fair this March.

There will be several events Sunday, Sept. 12 – Tuesday, Sept. 14, at the St. Olaf Community Campus, 2901 Emerson Ave N., including a Hoophouse building workshop and presentations about the Detroit Garden Resource Collaborative. This Gathering is free and open to the public; anyone interested in helping to form a localized partnership around food growing, preservation, distribution, consumption, and waste management accessibility is encouraged to attend. For more information, contact Gardening Matters at 512-492-8964 or visit www.gardeningmatters.org.

Upcoming Northeast Network

The September Northeast Network meeting will be Thursday, Sept. 9, from 7:30 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. This month’s topic will be issues of waste and waste disposal in and through Northeast Minneapolis, considering such questions as:

• What kinds and how much waste does our community generate? Where does it go?
  
• What kinds of human health impacts do different components of the waste stream have? How can we reduce them?
  
• What kinds of legislative proposals or public programs are in the works to address our mounting waste issues?
  
• What kinds of practical steps can individuals and businesses take to lessen the load?

Panelists will include:

• Susan Young, Director, City of Minneapolis Solid Waste & Recycling
  
• John Jaimez, Organics Recycling Coordinator with Hennepin County Environmental Services
  
• Kathleen Schuler, MPH, Co-Director, Healthy Legacy of the Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy.

Please RSVP by Tuesday, Sept. 7. Click here to RSVP.

Proposed Minneapolis-Hennepin Environmental Center

Since 2005, representatives from the City of Minneapolis and Hennepin County have been discussing the potential of the City and County partnering on a household hazardous waste facility in the City of Minneapolis. Currently Hennepin County operates facilities in Bloomington and Brooklyn Park.

However, participation data collected by Hennepin County has shown that only approximately 5% of Minneapolis residents utilize these facilities on a regular basis. Both the City and the County felt that more convenient access would increase participation by Minneapolis residents, to reduce the amount of improperly disposed of waste ending up in the river, ground and air.

In June 2010, the City began the process of evaluating the environmental and public purpose of the property at 340 27th Ave NE as a potential location for a Minneapolis-Hennepin Environmental Center. The evaluation includes environmental investigations and a traffic study to analyze traffic flow in the area.

There have been three public information meetings about this proposed site over the summer. Upcoming meetings will review the traffic study. In addition, the City of Minneapolis is in the process of developing a website so that the public may be further informed about the proposed site, environmental study, traffic study and details about further public meetings. For information about upcoming meetings, the traffic study and/or the website, please feel free to contact the Ward 1 office.

Back To School Notes

Edison High School rolls out its new International Baccalaureate (IB) program this fall. This challenging academic program encourages students to think from an international perspective while developing an understanding of their own cultural and national identity. The emphasis on interdisciplinary learning requires studying across six disciplines: native language, second language, individuals and societies, mathematics, computer science, experimental sciences and the arts.

Morris Park Players, a venerable community theater group, has relocated to Edison High School. Their first production in their new home will be the musical Annie, opening November 5.

Save the date for the Edison Homecoming & Octoberfest: Friday, September 24. Game time is 5 p.m. Octoberfest is in Jackson Square Park following the game. The entertainment will include the musical talents of the Edison Alumni Band, Pop Bang and King Custom & the Cruisers.

This year’s Edison Community BBQ was a resounding success for the fourth year in a row! Approximately 1100 community members, staff, students and parents visited and enjoyed brats, burgers, chicken and more. Principal Carla Steinbach and the Edison staff extend a big thank you to all the community members and sponsors who showed their support.

8th Annual Como Cookout

The Como Cookout is Sunday, September 19, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., at Van Cleve Park. This annual event includes an array of games from Frisbee golf to carnival games to human bingo, as well as a resource fair and food, lots of food!

East Side Thrift Store

Thrift stores offer a great way to practice the mantra of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. The East Side Thrift Store, located at 1928 Central Ave NE, is a non-profit operation run by East Side Neighborhood Services. The store offers clothing for all ages, accessories, jewelry, housewares, antiques, collectibles, books and much more. For further information, check out the website at www.esns.org.

MIMO Neighborhood Free Store

Southeast Como Improvement Association (SECIA) runs their temporary Free Store at the U of M ReUse Warehouse at 29th & Como Aves SE through Saturday, September 11. This is a pilot reduce, reuse, recycle project funded by a grant from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. The goal is to reduce the large amounts of curbside waste left after the Move-In/Move-Out cycles at the University of Minnesota. The store is open 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. For further information, go to www.secomo.org.

Waite Park Fall Fest & Push Cart Derby

The Waite Park Fall Fest is Saturday, September 11, 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. at Waite Park. It’s a fun-filled day of music, food, park events, kids’ games and the Second Annual Push Cart Derby.