Council Member's Message

2015 was an eventful year for the City of Minneapolis on a number of fronts and I am pleased that some of the initiatives and improvements launched over the course of the past year will have positive impacts on our community and our environment far into the the future:

• Organics recycling was launched in August of 2015 and will be expanded citywide in 2016. This initiative, combined with the one sort recycling that was rolled out 2012/13, represents a significant step in moving closer to the City's Zero Waste goals.
  
• The Minneapolis Clean Energy Partnership Board, of which I am a member, completed its first year of work toward helping Minneapolis achieve its clean energy goals.
• In September the Council approved the Percent-for-Art Ordinance that I authored with CM Glidden to dedicate 1.5% of City-issued net debt bonds annually to public art funding. This ordinance will ensure stable and predictable funding for public art and reinforces our commitment to the creative vitality artists generate in the First Ward and our City as a whole. Click HERE to read more about the ordinance.
• The City's Regulatory Services department rolled out a tiered rental license system that is designed to align costs and inspections to bring more resources to bear on problem rental properties.

2015 was an especially productive year for the First Ward. Many items that have been top priorities for me and for our community came to fruition in a big way, including the sale of the Hollywood Theater and the return of a ladder truck to Station 15. Read about some of the highlights below; we have much to celebrate!