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Happy Pride Ward 12!
Pride Month, observed each June, is a time to honor and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community's history, culture, and contributions. It commemorates the Stonewall Riots of June 1969, a pivotal moment in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights. Pride Month also serves as a call to action, raising awareness about ongoing issues such as discrimination, violence, and inequality faced by LGBTQ+ individuals. Black, Indigenous, and LGBTQ+ individuals of color experience violence and discrimination at disproportionate rates. It is our responsibility to ensure that everyone feels safe in our city. As Minneapolis continues to mourn the lost lives of Savannah Ryan Williams, Liara Kaylee Tsai, and countless other of our trans brothers and sisters, it is crucial that we uplift the voices of these marginalized communities. By doing so, we can build an inclusive and safe city where everyone can live without fear or prejudice.
Come Celebrate Pride at the Twin Cities Pride Parade and Festival this weekend!
On Thursday's Council Meeting we passed 56 items. We continued a bid for a convention center board room remodel in the amount of $12,986,332. This is a high dollar amount and I look forward to our next meetings to discuss if we actually should be spending this money on a boardroom remodel and how we can potentially allocate the money elsewhere especially in the context of a $21.6 million budget deficit. Learn more about it.
We accepted a grant and passed a resolution for the City of Minneapolis to accept a $327,114 grant in public health emergency preparedness funds from the Minnesota Department of Health for 2024-2025. We have many public health needs and urgent issues in our City and I glad to see more resources come to the city address them.
We passed a staff direction to analyze local government collaboration with healthcare providers through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 340B Drug Pricing Program. If the hospital’s overall patient population meets the 340B Program requirements, discounts are available for all eligible drug purchases. To participate in the 340B Program, qualified hospitals must have a contract with a State or local government. The Minneapolis City Council has authorized the execution of Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with Allina Health System, doing business as the Phillips Eye Institute, and Abbott Northwestern Hospital.
I wanted to highlight this because in a moment where healthcare costs and drug price costs are so high creating major barriers for community members to address their healthcare needs-- this is a moment where our local government can and is stepping up to help.
We approved a Memorandum of Agreement between the City of Minneapolis and 15 partners for a Climate Pollution Reduction Grant from the Environmental Protection Agency. The City of Minneapolis will lead a coalition of local governments from the Twin Cities Metropolitan area to provide grant funding to eligible businesses, property owners, nonprofits and government organizations through a program built on the foundation of success Minneapolis has had with the Minneapolis Green Cost Share program.
Just a few things up top I wanted to highlight for you. We are also in the midst of the start of budget season, email me if you have comments on City priorities related to the budget at aurin.chowdhury@minneapolismn.gov.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Best,
CM Aurin Chowdhury
Here is the full list of content:
Council Passes Honorary Resolution Celebrating Pride Month
 In a significant gesture of support and recognition, Council passed a resolution to honor Pride Month. This resolution, passed unanimously, reaffirms the city’s commitment to celebrating the diversity and contributions of the LGBTQ+ community in Minneapolis. The resolution highlights the ongoing efforts to promote equality and inclusivity, acknowledging the historical and contemporary struggles faced by LGBTQ+ individuals. It also calls for continued advocacy to ensure that Minneapolis remains a welcoming and safe city for all its residents, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
The full text of the resolution can be found on the Minneapolis Legislative Information Management System (LIMS) website.
Police Contract Agreement between City and Police Officers being considered by the City Council
The Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis has voted 301-63 to support the terms of a tentative agreement for a 2023-2025 collective bargaining agreement with the City of Minneapolis. Following the vote from its members, the federation has advanced a contract agreement that would deliver a historic boost in pay for Minneapolis police officers and significant reforms.
The 21.7% pay increase over the three years of the contract would make the Minneapolis Police Department among the highest paying in Minnesota by 2025. The terms will be retroactively applied to January 1, 2023. The contract would expire on December 31, 2025.
Taken together, the proposed changes would enhance transparency, strengthen managerial oversight, and equip MPD management with essential tools to better deploy limited resources and run the department.
On Tuesday, June 25th the Administration & Enterprise Oversight Committee held a public hearing for community members to share their perspectives and concerns regarding the contract. Although I'm not a member of this committee, I joined to listen to the comments residents shared to understand their concerns.
The Administration & Enterprise Oversight Committee will hold a second Public Hearing at their regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, July 8th at 1:30pm.
Read about key reforms and contract changes on the City website.
Thank you to everyone who has reached out on this contract, your input has been invaluable, please continue to reach out and share your comments, thoughts, and concerns.
Council Extends HOME Line Contract for Renters
City Council voted to amend the contract with HOME Line for legal advice, education, and resources for low-income Minneapolis renters, increasing its funding by nearly 100,000 for this vital and important work. HOME Line’s primary service has been in operation since 1992 as a free and confidential tenant hotline that provides legal advice to renters. Hmong, Somali and Spanish-speaking tenant advocates work with immigrant communities in their native languages. The Tenant Hotline focuses its service towards people who cannot afford traditional legal services and are more seriously affected by wrongly withheld security deposits, the prospect of eviction, and serious repair issues. HOME Line reported big increases for 2023, with 5,175 new clients, and 4,101 follow-up interactions. There was a 13% increase in new Minneapolis clients over last year, which itself had been a 19% increase over 2022, the previous record year. The extension of this contract will allow City staff ample time to complete the procurement process for a Request for Proposal (RFP). Additionally, this extension would avoid a lapse in service for free and confidential tenant hotline legal advice to renters.
Council Upholds Zoning Decision on Artificial Turf
For the neighbors that have been following the conversations surrounding Minnehaha Academy's site renovations; specifically the recent denial of a variance request to install artificial turf, the Council upheld the decision of the Zoning Administrator in a different appeal, from Robert E. Francis, on behalf of Sigma Chi Building Association. The property, which is a fraternity house on the University of Minnesota campus raised a quasi-jurisdictional appeal of the Zoning Administrator's determination that artificial turf constitutes an impervious surface and is a prohibited obstruction of a required yard. I offered comments during the hearing in the Business Housing and Zoning meeting about the potential environmental impacts of artificial turf, as well as the importance of using the appropriate channels for appeal as Minnehaha Academy did.
Council Passed Resolution Authorizing Grant Submission for Transit Oriented Development
City Council passed resolution authorizing the submittal of grant applications to the Metropolitan Council Livable Communities Demonstration Account and Livable Communities Demonstration Account Transit Oriented Development grant programs for the following projects: A Home of Our Own, The LOMA, Cheatham Apartments, Zaria, Mni Sota Fund Headquarters, and Rise Up Center.
It's crucial for our city to support new developments focused on transit-oriented development to promote public transportation and address environmental issues.
City Office of Community Safety staff have completed the first round of engagement with the south Minneapolis community about the South Minneapolis Community Safety Center and the Lake Street Safety Center. The information will help decide what services could be found in the community safety centers. Thank you to everyone who took the time to take part, whether it was at one of more than 30 in-person events, on the street or with the online survey.
In my last newsletter the I had the incorrect address for the Lake Street Safety Center that will be open in September/October, the correct address is 2228 East Lake Street.
Most of the reports from the individual engagement events can be found on the City of Minneapolis website. The page will be updated as more reports become available.
City staff are reviewing the data and will share a report on the overall findings on this information in the coming weeks.
On June 5 at the Public Health and Safety Committee meeting, staff provided an update with a timeline on the South Minneapolis Community Safety Center. You can read more about the update and see the presentation on the City website.
For updates and more information, check out the City website and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
 Please take survey on future use of former 3rd Precinct building
Minneapolis is proposing to redevelop the site of the former 3rd Police Precinct to house a new democracy center to expand access to the ballot box and provide a large space for community use. We’re asking residents to give us your input through a survey on the City website.
City experts reviewed the physical space, operational fit and feedback gathered throughout the last several years. As a result, the City is proposing to relocate its Elections & Voter Services, which is currently leasing industrial space in northeast Minneapolis, into the building at 3000 Minnehaha Ave.
More than 8,000 square feet of the space would be used for community use, which is roughly two thirds of the ground floor of the existing building. The City’s proposed timeline would have the site open as early as 2026.
Take the survey.
Read more on the City website.
Pepper & Fries Celebration Party TODAY!
Peppers & Fries has been a neighborhood staple for years. Steve Frias & his daughter Maria are ready for their next chapter and they invite you to come celebrate on their last day. See you there!
 County, Park and Recreation Board announce summer event lineups
Hennepin County and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board have announced their 2024 summer event schedules.
Hennepin County’s free, family-friendly events include live music, Pianos on Parade, movie nights at Target Field Station, fitness classes and more. See the entire “Go Outside with Hennepin County” lineup.
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board movies in the parks run June 1-Aug. 31 with 73 free outdoor movie screenings. Music in the parks offers 206 free outdoor concerts in nine park venues this summer. Read more about this year’s movies and music in the parks on the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board website.
Check out the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board pools and beaches update on its website.
Fourth of July fireworks return to Riverfront
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board will resume hosting its Red, White and Boom! Fourth of July event on the Downtown Minneapolis Riverfront this year.
This year, festivities will take place on the west side of the river, at Water Works and the Stone Arch Bridge parking lot. Live music and food trucks start at 6 p.m. July 4 with fireworks starting at 10 p.m.
Read more on the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board website.
 This week I spoke at a press conference that was held in Ward 12 at Wakpada Apartments one of the first development projects to have affordable housing through inclusionary zoning policies and was made possible by the 2040 plan.
Working to lobby the legislature to preserve 2040 through the comp plan clarity bill was one of my top priorities this legislative session because without the ability to build more housing, it would be a major setback to Minneapolis for generations to come. This ensures that we can build more densely & sustainably and build more deeply affordable housing accessible to those who are low income or are in the missing middle. I thank our Minneapolis Delegation, Climate advocates, the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority, the coalition of Labor Unions, our amazing city staff, the City Council, and the Mayor for coming together to make this happen.
 I joined for a groundbreaking this week for a project, supported by state and federal funds, grew out of a collaboration between Agate Housing and Services, which works with unhoused people; and Minneapolis-based Trellis, which develops affordable housing.
The four-story building is just off Minnehaha Avenue and Lake Street East, near a shopping complex that includes Target and Cub and a Blue Line light-rail station.
This project will provide 54 shelter beds along with 50 apartments for those transitioning out of homelessness.
Photo Credit & Helpful info from Sahan Journal. |
