7:40pm
Admin & Fin Adjourns.
Regular Meeting Reconvenes.
* Modifications to Agenda.
Young brings the Admin & Fin item regarding funding for Midtown Community Works to the agenda. She wants to table the New Business Discussion Item regarding the Superintendent's Residence, proposed by Comr. Vivian Mason, until Mason can be present.
Erwin says the Superintendent's Residence should come through committee.
Amended Agenda is ACCEPTED.
** Chief Johnson makes presentation regarding second year of five year contract to provide 17 officers to Minneapolis Public Schools. He says the program is "going great." Johnson says the schools now have a "single point of contact," either #1 him or #2 Sergeant Lash, versus when the contract was held by the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD). Johnson spends some time talking about how much better the Park Board police are doing this job than the MPD, and talks about things the MPD did wrong.
Erwin asks about the experience the officers have with schools and children.
Johnson says the officers involved have a lot of experience with schools and law enforcement.
Erwin says it sounds like a newspaper article was wrong about what it said about this program.
Johnson says the newspaper "had an agenda."
[Isn't it the case that many of the park police officers are former city police officers? Isn't it also true that some of these were part of the school liaison program? Why then the criticism of MPD?]
Berry Graves has a question about evening hours.
Johnson says there are 70 MPD officers and some Park Board officers who work part-time when off-duty for the schools at revenue events in the evenings.
* Reports of Officers
** Super. Gurban says something about athletics and then gets to his "sneak preview" of the National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA) 2010 Congress holding their convention in Minneapolis. It's a definite maybe.
Olson says "excellent work" and a variety of other complimentary things.
** GM Siggelkow talks about how the National First Tee organization suggested the local First Tee organizations band together at the state level to get more done, and mentions an upcoming state tournament.
** GM Mike Schmidt reports on plan to increase adult athletic field fees, and to create youth athletic field fees. There is to be a "dry run" on this plan on Thursday, March 3.
* Consent Business
2.1: Final Payment for tennis court replacement at Matthes and Martin Luther King Parks. APPROVED unopposed.
From Admin & Fin:
7.1: Midtown Community Works funding for $20,000 -- will have to be "found" in the budget by staff. APPROVED unopposed.
8.1: Resolution "Authorizing the Minnesota Department of Transportation to act as the fiscal agent to the Federal Highway Administration on behalf of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board's scenic byway enhancement program." Role call vote: 8 Ayes, 0 Nays. PASSED.
* New Business is referred to Committee.
* Petitions and Communications
Dziedzic congratulates Liz Wielinski for successfully leading the precinct caucus, etc. He complains about misinformation about the Park Board regarding Nicollet Island and says the Summer Parks program is fully funded, etc.
Hauser says she didn't sell park land on the river [except voting to sell the Fuji Ya parkland site on the river, of course, right Marie?]. She got a pile of letters regarding DeLaSalle.
Young got 3 piles of letters regarding DeLaSalle and says something about a waste of paper. She mentions that there is a Bassetts Creek Master Plan Open House, which the Park Board should attend, and that the Park Board should acknowledge the requests from the Bassetts Creek neighborhoods, e.g. Bryn Mawr, Harrison, etc.
Kummer says she encountered misinformation at the caucuses regarding the cost of the Neiman complex. She wants a report on Neiman to prevent misconceptions.
Schmidt says there is no retrenchment on the Park Board's support of Earth Day; biggest volunteer clean-up event in the parks.
Berry Graves confirms with Jon Olson that there is no plan to close Bethune Park, which a citizen asked her about. Olson states there is no such plan. Berry Graves has a letter from a Mr. Leckner(sp?) of the American Gardening Association(?) requesting a tour for their organization of the Historic Theodore Wirth Home, for their out of town guests (conference being held here in Minneapolis?).
Berry Graves also got a big pile of letters regarding DeLaSalle. She counted out the letters from Minneapolis and from outside Minneapolis. More than half were from outside Minneapolis.
Erwin again makes his wrong statement that the Resolution about Privatization in the Parks being incorrect.
Olson also got a letter from Mr. Lecker (Olson pronounces his name differently than Berry Graves, so spelling is still questionable) and has apparently talked to him on the phone. He also got letters about DeLaSalle.
[It is particularly apparent in this meeting that some commissioners are campaigning for re-election from the podium, notably Dziedzic, Kummer, Erwin and Fine. Hauser is campaigning for election for city council, and that is obvious as well.]
8:00pm ADJOURNED.
-- Chris Johnson Fulton
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