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I and some of my colleagues have been made aware of concerning patterns within the Neighborhood Safety Department (NSD) that suggested that the Mayor's administration has failed to effectively support and manage this crucial safety department. Some of those mismanagement concerns include allegations of waste, fraud, and abuse. The concerns are racking up faster than they can be addressed. Council is taking action to address what appears to be severe mismanagement of NSD.
Currently, the city is not able to properly support unarmed public safety programs. Mismanagement creates the conditions for potential lawsuits, further wastes financial resources, and renders massive damage to the city’s credibility, which all collectively undermines the importance of the comprehensive safety model itself.
In early February, when a number of public safety contracts went unpaid, I attempted to address the concerns with the Commission of Public Safety. This conversation led to me learning more about problems within the Neighborhood Safety Department (NSD). In an effort to understand how these problems were occurring, the Commissioner refused to answer questions and essentially pleaded the fifth. Following this alarming reaction to a request for transparency, I attempted to escalate these concerns by authoring a legislative directive. Staff was supposed to present a response to this legislative directive on March 11th, but did not do so until this week on April 29th. I was disappointed that even after a two-month delay, the presentation failed to fully address many of the questions.
I was particularly concerned that the Commissioner of the Office of Community Safety claimed that at the end of 2023 during Budget discussions, NSD staff did not make him aware that the NSD lacked the capacity to keep up with contract administration and were concerned about the success of the department in executing its functions in 2024. This directly contradicts documentation that NSD leadership explicitly alerted the OCS Commissioner to this fact. The emails where this exchange occurred will be uploaded to the legislative file by next week.
The Council President, Chair of Public Health and Safety, and I are in conversation on how to solve these issues and what steps can be taken immediately to address it. We have also met with the City Auditor to formally request investigations into fraud, waste, and abuse.
I am encouraged to hear that in the last few days, the oversight that I and my colleagues have undertaken has started to pay off. Since raising these issues in Committee on Monday, Council President Payne and Council Member Chavez have met with the Mayor and I have had several meetings with the City Auditor to offer recommendations and discuss next steps. Several of the specific recommendations to address the mismanagement that have been brought to the Mayor and his administration have received corrective action. Local and national partners are sharing that they are already seeing increased responsiveness from the Mayor’s administration. These changes are a result of Council demonstrating leadership and using our oversight authority when the administration is not meeting expectations, commitments, and working outside of city policy frameworks.
Key votes: No votes taken.
The Administration and Enterprise Oversight (AEO) Committee was asked to approve a variety of Neighborhood Safety Department contracts. I motioned to forward the contracts without recommendation, which the Committee unanimously supported. I want to be clear that I am incredibly grateful for each group on this list that provides critical services to residents and significantly enhance safety in our city. The ongoing questions and concerns about the possible mismanagement of the Neighborhood Safety Department raised a lot of questions about how these contracts will be managed.
Since the committee, I have been notified that the contract the city had with John Jay College to provide technical assistance related to unarmed public safety services has been finalized. With the clarity that these contractors will have support and access to technical assistance from a national organization who has expertise in this work leaves me confident in approving them when they come to full council next Thursday.
Key votes: Administration and Enterprise Oversight (AEO) Committee votes unanimously to forward NSD contracts to Council without recommendation.
The Public Health and Safety (PHS) Committee received a presentation from Avivo, the organization running one of the largest low-barrier shelters for unhoused residents. Avivo has made a huge contribution towards addressing the crisis of homelessness that is particularly impacting Black and Indigenous residents.
Avivo has been largely supported by pandemic relief funds and other short-term sources, which leaves them facing a financial cliff in 2025. The PHS Committee unanimously expressed the opinion that Avivo is a critical part of humanely addressing homelessness, and losing Avivo would be incredibly damaging to the city. I was encouraged to hear a shared commitment to supporting Avivo to not only continue its operations, but to significantly expand in the coming years.
Key votes: No votes taken.
The Climate and Infrastructure (C&I) Committee received a presentation on the Reimagining I-94 Report. The presentation lays out how replacing I-94 with an at-grade boulevard is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to advance climate and equity goals.
The report includes images of what a highway-to-boulevard conversion would look like. It would mean huge improvements for Ward 2, including improved access for multimodal travel, increased green space, decrease in air pollution, and significant economic opportunity with access to new land that would have the opportunity to be developed. Many neighborhood organizations have shared their support for this reimagining of 94 and I look forward to supporting this community vision into reality.
Key votes: No votes taken.
 
Council Member Wonsley has submitted an application for Glendale to receive historic designation. The application has been accepted and the Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC) will hear the nomination on June 4th at 4:30pm at the Public Service Center (250 4th St S) in Room 350. This will be a public hearing and members of the public may show up to speak. The HPC chair typically allows 2 minutes for each person to comment. Residents can also send written public comment before the meeting to the staff person handling the application, Rob Skalecki at robert.skalecki@minneapolismn.gov.
The HPC will vote to approve or deny the nomination at the June 4th meeting. If approved, the HPC will place the district under interim protection and call for the designation study to be completed. The next HPC hearing would then be for the designation. The designation hearing could be up to a year later. If the nomination is denied on June 4th, then the process is over. Nomination application decisions can’t be appealed.
In other exciting news related to Glendale, “We’re Still Here: Glendale Townhomes 70th Anniversary 1952-2022” exhibition won the 2024 Minnesota Alliance of Local History Museums. Congratulations to Defend Glendale & Public Housing Coalition and Minnesota Transform for this prestigious recognition of your exhibit, and of the history of Glendale.
Work will begin the week of May 13th at the intersection of 5th St SE and 15th Ave SE. This project includes new bike curb, storm sewer upgrades, water hydrant relocation, traffic signal system upgrades, ADA pedestrian ramps with median, and new traffic markings.
Due to the extensive scope of this project the intersection will be closed to vehicle traffic for the majority of this project. Pedestrian and cyclist access will remain through the intersection. This project should be completed by the end of August 2024.
I was honored to be the keynote speaker at the University of Minnesota's Gender, Women, and Sexual Studies (GWSS) Undergraduate Symposium and celebrate this year's GWSS graduates. Congratulations to all the GWSS 2024 graduates!
I had a great time connecting with neighbors at the Marcy Holmes Neighborhood Association Community Meeting. Thanks MHNA for your community building work in the University community!
Come build a green ribbon of resiliency across the Twin Cities! A strong community coalition including Project Sweetie Pie, BF50 Indigenous Health, Pillsbury United Communities, Rethos, Farm at the Arb, Freedom from the Streets, the Minneapolis Farmers Market Association, and the Minnesota Farm Bureau has built an incredible partnership with BigGreen.Org. Over 400 raised beds have been donated to champions of the local food system. These beautiful garden boxes will be deployed throughout the metro community as a symbol of our commitment to planting the seeds of change, operationalizing the sustainable development goals, implementing climate mitigation solutions and collectively crafting a food focused future. Education never tasted so good.
Adopt a Garden Box
Saturday May 18th 10am-5pm
1701 Oak Park Ave N
Seward Co-op members have launched a petition calling on members and the board to take a more engaged role and make sure management's actions reflect our ethics. This petition was launched after Seward Co-op laid off 11 employees, including 5 union employees, earlier this month.
I attended the May Day march on Lake Street where we stood in solidarity with Educational Support Professionals bargaining for a fair contract and rideshare drivers fighting for fair wages. We heard powerful speakers about how the struggle for immigration justice, Palestinian liberation, and for an end to police brutality interlink with the struggles for workers’ rights. Solidarity forever!
Contact Ward 2
Visit: minneapolismn.gov/ward2
Email: ward2@minneapolismn.gov
Phone: 612-673-2202
We've moved while work is being done in City Hall. Our office is in:
Room 100, Public Service Center
250 South 4th St.
Get directions
For reasonable accommodations or alternative format please contact 311. People who are deaf or hard of hearing can use a relay service to call 311 at 612-673-3000. TTY users call 612-263-6850. Para ayuda, llame al 311. Rau kev pab 311. Hadii aad Caawimaad u baahantahay wac 311. |
