Representatives of the Minneapolis United Neighborhood Council met with the Charter Commission today to discuss the possibility of a Charter Amendment to fund Phase II of NRP. The attorney for the Charter Commission indicated that a Charter Amendment of this complexity affects many aspects of the cities charter and cannot be accomplished in the short time frame available. In addition, the group was not able to collect the 8,760 signatures needed. The Charter Commission was not willing to carry this referendum forward itself. Don Fraser stated that $20 million dollars was a small percentage of the overall city budget and suggested pursuing an ordinance to fund the program. At this point, the group has decided to proceed with the formation of a political action committee to investigate every option available that can be enacted to ensure that NRP Phase II will be a reality for the citizens of Minneapolis. The signatures collected on the petitions will be entered to a data base so the group can keep interested citizens informed of the groups progress and so people can be mobilized when necessary to accomplish tasks that will become necessary during this process. Now that it has been determined that the $61 million dollars remaining in Phase I is in tact, there is more time to find an acceptable solution to funding Phase II. The volunteers who worked on the petitions are to be commended for the dedication of time and effort they put forth. Nearly 5,000 signatures were collected in a week. This is a phenomenal outcome. We are encouraging everyone to continue to be involved in this effort as the group moves forward to find a solution to the funding problems for Phase II of NRP. With the city election fast approaching, it is important that the NRP Phase II issue be made a major issue in this campaign and that each of you encourage the mayoral and city council candidates to take a public stand with reference to their willingness to make NRP Phase II a reality. Jeff Hayden Powderhorn Park MUNC Chairperson __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/ _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - Minnesota E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
