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This newsletter provides updates on the City's response to COVID-19, an overview of recovery efforts underway, efforts to transform public safety and other important news and information from the City of Minneapolis.
Mayor Jacob Frey and City Council Vice President Andrea Jenkins are proposing $7 million in new City investment, including $2 million in direct support for demolition work for businesses whose demolition costs are not covered by insurance and $5 million for the City’s Commercial Property Development Fund (CPDF) to support economic recovery in Minneapolis.
City staff have been working with property and business owners since June to support clean-up plans along corridors impacted by civil unrest. While many building owners have clean-up costs in excess of insurance benefits, the City has identified 16 sites where property owners are struggling with clean-up funding gaps in excess of $100,000 each.
The City is committing to cleaning those 16 sites with $2 million from a combination of funding sources, including newly received federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program income and unspent CDBG funds from previous years.
Read more.
Mayor Jacob Frey has released his finalized recommended City budget proposal for 2021.
With a limited 5.75% maximum levy increase and 12% increase in the overall tax base growth, three-quarters of Minneapolis residential property owners will see a decrease in their property tax bill with the median-valued household set to experience a $59 yearly decrease.
Despite the COVID-19 revenue shortfall, Frey’s 2021 budget proposal includes a $7.2 million increase in ongoing funding for affordable housing work, his top priority. That new, ongoing support includes a major boost to the City’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which was previously funded at $800,000 on an ongoing basis.
The City Council will begin reviewing the proposed budget. Visit the City’s budget website to learn more about the mayor’s recommended budget, key dates in the approval process, FAQs and more. You can also watch a series of videos on the City’s budget process.
Read more.
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Minneapolis Public Works is considering options for an interim winter street design for Chicago Avenue between 37th and 39th Street, and 38th Street between Elliot Avenue and Columbus Avenue. Public Works is working to ensure that essential access is retained through the winter. Ensuring essential winter access requires some adjustments in the area; no decision has been made on the final details of the winter design or timing of implementation.
Based on community feedback about the streets, Public Works has developed options for an interim winter design for streets in the area. These designs work to:
- Preserve space for mourning and reflection.
- Increase public visibility and safety.
- Preserve as much public art as possible.
- Ensure essential winter access is retained for emergency vehicles, utilities, local deliveries, and local residents.
- Improve business, resident, and transit access.
- Provide an interim design, not a return to normalcy.
Review the design options.
You can share feedback on the winter options in this questionnaire, which is open through Sunday, Oct. 4.
In addition to this questionnaire, Public Works staff are hosting an online open house to present briefly on winter street design options and answer questions:
38th & Chicago winter street design online open house
6:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1
Link to join
Visit the City's website to learn more.
The City of Minneapolis has approved 10 projects for urgently needed artist-led creative healing in the wake of the death of George Floyd and the subsequent community uprisings. Current and former Creative CityMaking artists will lead the 10 selected projects as they respond to this historic moment in Minneapolis. The first funding priority was given to Black artists working with communities who have historically experienced the stress and trauma of racial discrimination.
Repurposing resources provided by the Kresge Foundation to the Creative CityMaking program, the City’s Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy allocated this $100,000 in Creative Response Fund grants to mobilize the unique and specialized skills of artists and designers to engage with and expand the impact of healing and community support. These grant dollars also recognize the unpaid labor of artists and designers as they respond to multiple health and racism emergencies to support community needs.
Read more.
(Upper right) Murals of Tony McDade, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
Image provided by Creatives After Curfew, photo credit: Leslie Barlow.
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The 2020 Census deadline is ONE WEEK AWAY! The opportunity to count ourselves and our communities occurs only once every 10 years, and as of today we only have seven days left to ensure everyone of us, everywhere, are counted.
The census uses the information we provide to allocate $15 billion in federal funding to Minnesota for our roads, our hospitals, our education and many programs and services that our communities rely on. Without an accurate count of everyone, we could be in jeopardy of missing out on valuable resources, political representation and a voice in decision making that affects all of our lives. The time to act is now, get counted! Visit My2020census.gov to complete the census before the Sept. 30 deadline.
Early voting is underway for the Nov. 3 general election. Ballots may be cast early by mail or in person at the Early Vote Center, 980 E. Hennepin Ave.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is encouraging voting early by mail, and Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services supports this and other CDC and Minneapolis Department of Health recommendations to make sure every voter in Minneapolis can safely cast their ballots this election year.
The Early Vote Center, 980 E. Hennepin Ave., makes early in-person voting more convenient for Minneapolis voters. It’s especially helpful to people who need language support or other special accommodations, such as curbside voting. While we are in a pandemic, voting early can help people avoid lines and crowds at polling places on the day of the election.
The Early Vote Center’s hours are 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. The center will have extended hours for the final two weeks of voting, including Saturday and Sunday hours. For the last seven days of early voting, the City will open two additional Early Vote Centers. All early voting hours and locations are posted on the Elections & Voter Services website: vote.minneapolismn.gov.
Read more about early voting.
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The City has launched the comment period for the public to review draft built form regulations that will regulate the scale of new buildings and additions throughout Minneapolis. The regulations are critical to achieving the goals of Minneapolis 2040, the City’s Comprehensive Plan, which was approved by the City Council in 2018. The plan will shape how the city will grow and change over the next two decades so all residents can benefit. Under consideration now are technical aspects of Minneapolis 2040 implementation.
Minneapolis 2040 includes 14 Built Form Districts that will guide the development of new regulations, which will govern issues such as: building height, floor area ratio (FAR), lot sizes and setbacks from property lines, among other things. The new built form regulations will resolve some of the major conflicts between Minneapolis 2040 and the City’s current zoning regulations. They are also intended to provide more predictability for the scale of new buildings and additions in different areas in the city, including neighborhoods, downtown, production/employment areas and areas served by high-frequency transit.
Minneapolis 2040 went into effect on Jan. 1, 2020, following over two years of community engagement. The plan guides growth and change with 14 key goals, including eliminating racial disparities, promoting climate change resiliency, and increasing access to jobs and housing.
Upcoming online open houses on proposed regulations
Read more about how to comment on the draft regulations.
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This year has seen a surge in community traffic safety and traffic calming requests along with more reports of reckless driving and speeding.
The City is committed to reaching Vision Zero—having zero traffic deaths and severe injuries on our streets—and traffic staff have been working to respond to the safety requests in a fair and equitable way while recognizing the urgency of the current challenges. Public Works is also working on updated procedures related to neighborhood traffic calming, so that community members can better understand how decisions are made. A draft of those procedures which will be available for public comment this winter.
The City continues to ramp up investments in traffic safety through implementation of the 2020-2022 Vision Zero Action Plan. The 2020 Vision Zero Annual Report highlights recent work including:
- Lowering speed limits;
- Launching the Vision Zero traffic enforcement working group focused on safety and racial justice; and
- Preparing quick-build safety improvements for High Injury Streets, including a 4-to-3 lane safety conversion on a section of Lyndale Avenue North, additional safety improvements at more than 30 intersections this year, and a capital budget request for expanded improvements in 2021 and 2022.
More “20 is Plenty, Slower is Safer” yard signs are now available for pick up while supplies last. Help get out the word about new, safer speed limits. You can pick up a yard sign at four sand giveaway locations:
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The City of Minneapolis is holding an online open house later this month to share updates, answer questions and solicit feedback about the reconstruction of Hennepin Avenue South between Douglas Avenue and West Lake Street.
The City plans to reconstruct this section of Hennepin Avenue starting in 2023. The reconstruction project provides an opportunity to redesign Hennepin Avenue to meet the needs of current and future users of the street. Project goals include improving the sidewalk and intersections for all users, evaluating bicycle network connectivity, providing space for enhanced transit stops for future bus-rapid transit (BRT) service, replacing aging infrastructure and maintaining and enhancing traffic flow for transit and motor vehicles.
Upcoming online open house on project
- 6:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 30
- Find a link to the open house and more information about the project on the City’s website.
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The governor's latest extension of the peacetime emergency means that the suspension of evictions and landlord-initiated lease terminations remains in place until Oct. 12.
This suspension will allow households to remain sheltered during the peacetime emergency. The executive order does not relieve a tenant's obligation to pay rent.
While the eviction moratorium continues, housing providers can evict a tenant when the tenant violates a lease by endangering the safety of others, engaging in certain illegal activities, or significantly damaging property. Evictions can also proceed if the homeowner or their family member needs to move into the premises or if a writ of recovery was issued prior to March 24 at 5 p.m.
Emergency rental assistance
Hennepin County offers emergency rental assistance for residents with low incomes who have been financially harmed by COVID-19. Residents can learn more and apply at www.hennepin.us/rent-help and find more information here:
The City of Minneapolis is offering free COVID-19 tests and flu shots in Minneapolis communities. All are welcome.
The COVID-19 test is free, and you do not need insurance for the test. You can expect to get your test results in about two days. If you need medical care but don’t have health insurance, the Minnesota Department of Health offers resources to find low-cost health care or health insurance.
If you are unable to attend one of these testing events, you can use this directory to find a testing location near you.
Minnesota’s COVID-19 Housing Assistance Program has opened to cover housing expenses such as rent, mortgage, utilities or other housing-related costs. This program will help keep folks in their homes and maintain housing stability for eligible renters and homeowners in communities across the state.
People in Minnesota interested in applying for assistance can call the Greater Twin Cities United Way’s 211 Resource Helpline at 651-291-0211, visiting 211unitedway.org or texting “MNRENT” or “MNHOME” to 898-211. The 211 Helpline has dedicated multilingual staff to answer questions about the COVID-19 Housing Assistance Program 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.
For questions regarding the application process, check the COVID-19 Housing Assistance Program frequently asked questions.
In addition to the City’s Sick and Safe Time ordinance, the U.S. Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ensures that workers are not forced to choose between their paychecks and the public health measures needed to combat COVID-19.
In general, employees of private sector employers with fewer than 500 employees, and certain public sector employers, are entitled to (up to) two weeks (of fully or partially paid) sick leave for COVID-19 related reasons. Additional partially paid leave is available to care for a child, including during school closure or virtual learning. Private employers that have fewer than 500 employees are reimbursed with tax credits for the cost of providing their employees with paid leave.
For more information, call 1-866-4-US-WAGE and check out the following resources: informational video, eligibility tool, poster and FAQs.
Park Board updates on encampments
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) limits the total number of parks available for temporary encampments and the number of tents per encampment. It has also established a temporary permit that can be issued to an individual or body that agrees to be responsible for the day-to-day oversight of an encampment.
The board’s regulations respond to the growing number of people experiencing homelessness who are living in parks temporarily until dignified alternative spaces can be found. The MPRB is working with state, county and city health and human service agencies to find short, medium and long-term solutions.
For the latest information on encampment locations and Park Board actions, go to minneapolisparks.org/encampments.
Learn more about the City's work with partners responding to the increase in homeless encampments.
Minneapolis individuals, property owners, businesses and nonprofits can now apply for low-interest disaster loans. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has approved a disaster declaration for areas in Minnesota affected by the recent civil unrest.
Three types of SBA disaster loans
- Home disaster loans for homeowners or renters to repair or replace disaster-damaged real estate and personal property including automobiles.
- Physical disaster loans to repair or replace disaster-damaged property owned by businesses and nonprofits including real estate, inventory and equipment. Businesses and nonprofits of any size are eligible.
- Economic injury disaster loans for working capital to help small businesses and nonprofits meet their financial obligations that cannot be met as a direct result of the disaster.
For help preparing financial documentation, Minneapolis businesses can consult with an advisor through the City’s Business Technical Assistance Program or contact the Minneapolis Small Business Team at 612-673-2487 or SmallBusiness@minneapolismn.gov.
Apply online here by Oct. 2 for physical disaster loans and May 3, 2021, for economic injury disaster loans.
See the Small Business Administration news release and fact sheet for more information. Business and property owners with questions about the loan application can contact the SBA Virtual Disaster Loan Outreach Center at 571-422-6078 or 571-422-6871 or FOCE-Help@sba.gov.
Minnesotans are required to wear a face covering in indoor businesses and indoor public settings. Researchers have advocated for masking, calling it a simple and effective step to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
The state regulation reinforces Mayor Jacob Frey’s emergency regulation requiring people in Minneapolis to wear cloth face masks or coverings when they are in an indoor place of public accommodation is in effect.
Businesses are not required to provide masks to customers or employees themselves, though employers shall be required to mandate the use of masks by their staff. Non-compliance should be reported through 311. Find information on how to get a mask.
Donate homemade face masks at Minneapolis fire stations for Mask Drive Mondays
Minneapolis residents can deliver homemade masks to their local fire station from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Monday for Mask Drive Mondays. The City plans to distribute the donated masks throughout Minneapolis to residents, organizations and businesses that are most in need, including food shelves, congregate living facilities, small corner stores and shelters.
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Tune into the City's cultural radio programs for COVID-19 updates. The City has programs on KMOJ 89.9 FM (English); La Raza 95.7 FM (Spanish); KALY 101.7 FM (Somali); and WIXK AM 1590 (Hmong.) Radio shows schedule
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