Council Member's Message

There are three upcoming events to bring to your attention as the summer winds down and we approach fall. First of all, the Eastside Community and School Barbeque will be held on Thursday, August 25. This annual event is an outstanding celebration of our schools, our students and our Eastside community as residents, businesses and local organizations all come together for food and festivity. It’s scheduled to coincide with the Eastside Schools open houses and offers us all an opportunity to support the youth of our community (see story below for more details).

Next up, I will be hosting a community forum on Tuesday, September 13 at 6:30 p.m. at the Firefighters Hall & Museum (664 – 22nd Avenue NE) to introduce Inspector Todd Loining. Police Chief Harteau recently announced some changes in the leadership of our City’s precincts, including moving Insp. Loining to the Second Precinct, while Insp. Waite has taken over the Fifth Precinct. I have every confidence that Inspector Loining will continue the strong Second Precinct tradition of community partnerships that has been the foundation of public safety in the First Ward.

Also on Tuesday, September 13, the Ward One Office is partnering with East Side Neighborhood Services on their 39th annual health and wellness event, Your Community for a Lifetime: A Health & Wellness Expo. This event, which takes place 10 a.m. to noon at 1700 2nd Street NE, connects community members with important resources and services to enhance their health and well-being.

I hope you'll be able to join me for one or more of these events in September!

The Next Generation of Stormwater Treatment & Regional Collaboration

What does rain that falls in another city have to do with the First Ward? Because the water cycle is a complex system that doesn't abide by lines on a map, rain that falls in St. Anthony Village becomes run-off that travels through Northeast Minneapolis and ends up in the Mississippi. Effectively managing that stormwater runoff is a multi-jurisdictional task, which is why St. Anthony Village, the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization (MWMO), and the City of Minneapolis have teamed up to create a stormwater treatment and research facility in a grassy corner of the Windom Park neighborhood. Council Member Reich, who is also the MWMO Board President, recently joined MWMO Executive Director Doug Snyder and St. Anthony Mayor Jerry Faust (pictured at right) at a ribbon-cutting for the project.

This $1.6 million project, which is being funded by MWMO, will capture and clean roughly 169 million gallons of stormwater runoff annually, significantly reducing pollution levels of the water entering the Mississippi River. At the same time, it will allow researchers to test new and emerging treatment technologies.

The scale of this project combined with it's cutting edge technology and the significant research opportunities it offers make it uniquely noteworthy. Visit http://mwmo.org/projects/st-anthony-regional-stormwater-treatment-research-system/ to learn more about the project and watch a video of how the treatment facility works.

The next time you're on a Minneapolis city street, take a glance at the curb and gutter. That smooth, professional surface you're seeing is the work of one of the City of Minneapolis' Cement Finishers. Public Works currently employs 14 cement finishers who form, place and finish Portland concrete cement for curb and gutter, driveways, finished pavement and other unique structures made of concrete across the entire city.

This specialized position has been part of the Public Works Department for many years, as can be seen from the picture at right of cement finishers at work paving an alley in 1941. The City also has a apprentice finisher program to mentor and train city employees interested in learning this skill. Once the apprentices complete a 57-week program in the Paving Construction Division, they are then transferred to a variety of Public Works departments.

Edison Community Garden

As the Edison High School plaza continues to take shape, a garden is springing up alongside the gym, thanks to the school's new Spark-Y program.Edison High School sophmore Connor Arneson (pictured at left) is one of the four Spark-Y interns who are installing the Edison Community Garden this summer. As part of the Spark-Y curriculum last year, students created a variety of garden designs and then asked the community to vote on them. This summer Connor spent a couple of weeks modifying the design to fit the dimensions of the garden space. After that was completed the interns, with assistance from community volunteers, began the construction work on the garden, including a pergola and path. They expect to have the garden completed by mid-August.Spark-Y is a non-profit organization that provides sustainable education for youth by focusing on urban agriculture systems. The Spark-Y curriculum was introduced at Edison High School last fall with a hands-on aquaponics program. For more information about Spark-Y, visit: http://spark-y.org/.

City Minimum Wage Update

The City Council is directing staff to review and bring back recommendations on increasing the minimum wage in Minneapolis by ordinance. The staff recommendations are to be returned to the Committee of the Whole in 2017.

The action directs staff to work with stakeholders, review policies from other cities, review and incorporate results from the forthcoming minimum wage study, and recommend a minimum wage policy to bring before the Committee of the Whole by the second quarter of 2017; and to formulate a plan for engagement to bring before the Committee of the Whole on or before Oct. 5, 2016.

The City first acted on minimum wages in April 2015 with a resolution committing the city to a study of the effects of establishing a minimum wage regionally and locally. The results of the minimum wage study are expected in September.

Eastside Community & School BBQ: Thursday, August 25

Get ready for one of the Eastside's biggest parties - the 10th Annual Eastside Community & School Barbeque is coming up on Thursday, August 25, 3:30 - 7:30 p.m. at Edison High School, 700 - 22nd Avenue NE.

This event started ten years ago as a kick-off of Edison's school year and a thank you to its hardworking lunch ladies. It's evolved into a community-wide celebration that last year hosted 3000 people. All of the Eastside Schools - Marcy Open, Northeast Middle School, Pillsbury Elementary, Edison High School, Sheridan Elementary, Waite Park Elementary and Webster Elementary - will be having their open houses the same night so families can stop by the Barbeque before or after their visit.

Come join your friends and neighbors for this tasty and activity-filled event!
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For reasonable accommodations or alternative formats please contact Lisa Brock at lisa.brock@minneapolismn.gov or 612-673-2201. People who are deaf or hard of hearing can use a relay serviceto call 311 agents at 612-673-3000. TTY users can call 612-673-2157 or 612-673-2626.

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612-673-3500.