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Summary: After over two hours of public hearing in which testifiers expressed overwhelming support, the Public Health and Safety Committee voted 4-2 in support of an ordinance to gather data on the Mayor’s encampment response strategy.
Background: Council Members Chowdhury, Chavez and Vice President Chughtai have authored an ordinance that requires standardized reporting on the costs and impacts of evicting an encampment of unhoused residents. At the Public Health and Safety (PHS) Committee meeting this week, the ordinance authors gave a presentation on the ordinance and presented an FAQ sheet to provide clarity on what the ordinance does. After the presentation, dozens of residents testified. The vast majority spoke in strong support.
I am strongly supportive of this ordinance and want to thank the authors, as well as residents who organized for years around this demand. The ordinance is an incredibly common sense policy that ensures that we have data about the costs and impacts of evicting encampments. This data will provide clarity on the overall efficacy of the strategy that Mayor Frey’s administration has been using for the last six years to try and address homelessness in Minneapolis. Residents consistently share with my office that they believe that the city’s current strategy is not working, based on the evidence that encampments are growing despite the city spending untold millions of dollars evicting them. I also hear consistently that residents want real solutions for homelessness, like investment in low-barrier housing and support services.
Homelessness is an emotionally loaded topic for many residents and Council Members. Thousands of residents are directly impacted by housing instability and homelessness, whether or not they are in encampments themselves. Residents who are in stable housing are not immune from the impacts of homelessness either, and we hear from housed residents that they also want the city to invest resources into solutions that will actually reduce the numbers of unsheltered individuals and encampments, as opposed to continuing this ineffective whack-a-mole approach that the administration has employed for several years.
Key votes: Council Member Palmisano made a motion to amend the ordinance by removing key provisions, which would have significantly weakened the policy. This motion failed in a 2-4 vote. The PHS voted 4-2 in support of the encampment removal reporting ordinance. Council will take a final vote on September 19th at 9:30am.
Summary: The Business, Housing and Zoning Committee voted 5-0-1 in support of an ordinance to increase pre-eviction filing notice from 14 days to 30 days.
Background: Council Members Chavez and Chowdhury and Council President Payne are authoring an ordinance that increases the amount of time that a landlord must give a tenant before filing an eviction. The current policy is 14 days, and this ordinance would change it to 30 days. The ordinance only applies to residential tenants who are facing eviction from nonpayment of rent. It does not apply to commercial tenants or to residential tenants who are facing eviction due to non-financial matters such as safety or inappropriate use of the property.
I am strongly supportive of this policy. It was requested by the City Council in 2021 and included in the Renter Protections, Eviction Prevention, and Anti-Displacement Report published by the city’s Policy and Research Division earlier this year. Similar policies have been adopted in Brooklyn Center, and in Oregon, Washington, and New Hampshire.
According to the Renter Protections Report “Through the first nine months of 2023, Hennepin County eviction filings jumped 44% over the previous year. Nationally, the Twin Cities is second only to Las Vegas for the increase in eviction cases compared to the pandemic era, according to the Eviction Lab at Princeton University, which tracks filings in 34 cities across the country” (page 55). This underscores the dire need to enact eviction prevention policies such as increasing pre-filing notice timelines, which provides the time needed for tenants to get connected with resources that could prevent the eviction from taking place.
I look forward to supporting this policy when Council votes next week. I am also working on continuing to expand eviction prevention policies through a Homes to Do Homework policy that would prevent evictions of families with school-aged children during the school year, and look forward to advancing that policy early next year.
Key votes: The Business, Housing and Zoning Committee votes 5-0-1 in support of increasing pre-eviction notice from 14 days to 30 days. Council Member Jenkins was the only abstention.
Summary: I am advancing a carbon emissions fee that is expected to help reduce pollution by the largest emitters by 6% in 2025. Testify or submit public comment in support!
Background: In 2022, thousands of residents organized around the People’s Climate and Equity Plan, a comprehensive policy package about how to build a just and sustainable city. One of the recommendations of the People’s Climate and Equity Plan was to implement Pollution Control Annual Registration (PCAR) fees for carbon dioxide.
PCAR fees are a program that the city already applies to a large number of air pollutants and environmentally harmful technologies. The city provides mitigation and remediation resources such as filters and monitors to polluters, and the fees cover the costs of these services and the staff time required to inspect and administer them.
I have been working for over a year to get carbon dioxide added to the city’s PCAR list and the fee schedule that corresponds to it. In February, I authored a legislative motion that resulted in a joint report that was presented in June laying out the pathway to creating a PCAR program for carbon dioxide (CO2) and equivalent greenhouse gasses, which are referred to as CO2e.
The new program would charge large facilities $452/ton of CO2e. At each of these sites, city staff would conduct site visits to complete technical analyses of projects to reduce emissions and refer facilities to a contracted partner to apply for a Green Cost Share program. The implementation of this fee is estimated to cover the city’s cost of reducing emissions 6% at each of the large facilities in 2025, a total reduction of 605.81 tons of CO2e.
The Mayor’s proposed fee schedule does not include a PCAR fee for carbon emissions. On September 24th at 1:30pm there will be a public hearing on the 2025 Fee Schedule at the Business Housing and Zoning Committee. Residents can come testify and share that they want to see a fee for carbon emissions included. Written testimonies can also be submitted at any time to CouncilComment@minneapolismn.gov.
Key votes: Residents can share public comment in support of carbon emissions fees on large polluters on September 24th at 1:30pm at the Council Chambers (250 S 4th St). Residents can submit written testimony any time to CouncilComment@minneapolismn.gov. Council Member Wonsley will move the amendment at the Council Meeting on October 2nd at 9:30am.
Summary: I am advancing a fee on off-duty police work in 2025. Testify or submit public comment in support!
Background: Minneapolis Police officers are allowed to work “off-duty,” meaning they take private security jobs for which they are paid directly by private entities, but use city weapons and cars, wear city uniforms, and carry city liability while doing so. Minneapolis’ off-duty system has been recognized as fundamentally inequitable by the US Department of Justice.
Due to a mid-1990s court case, Minneapolis must allow MPD to do off-duty work. However, there has been a lack of political will to impose regulations or limits on off-duty work within the scope of what is legal. I have been working for several years to find ways to reign in and regulate MPD’s off-duty work.
Earlier this summer, the Public Health and Safety Committee received a presentation based on the legislative directive I authored, which outlined that an off-duty fee of $19/hour for use of a Ford Explorer squad car would align with the city’s vehicle operations expense rates. This is a strong starting place to ensure that the city is recouping at least some of the costs that taxpayers incur when officers work off-duty for personal gain. It would also necessarily require MPD to adhere to more specific tracking of off-duty work in order to recoup these fees from officers. I am working with city staff to identify how Council can support the implementation of these fees.
The Mayor’s proposed fee schedule does not include the fee for off-duty work. On September 24th at 1:30pm there will be a public hearing on the 2025 Fee Schedule at the Business Housing and Zoning Committee. Residents can come testify and share that they want to see a fee for off-duty use of squad cars included. Written testimonies can also be submitted at any time to CouncilComment@minneapolismn.gov.
Key votes: Residents can share public comment in support of hourly fees for off-duty use of squad cars on September 24th at 1:30pm at the Council Chambers (250 S 4th St). Residents can submit written testimony any time to CouncilComment@minneapolismn.gov. Council Member Wonsley will move the amendment at the Council Meeting on October 2nd at 9:30am.
Summary: The Administration and Enterprise Oversight Committee unanimously approved a legislative directive authored by me and Council President Payne about management improvements in the Neighborhood Safety Department.
Background: The Neighborhood Safety Department has experienced staffing and management challenges throughout the last year. I, along with Council Member Chavez and Council President Payne have been attempting to work with Office of Community Safety leadership to learn more about their plans to address some of the known operational challenges since early this year. On April 17th, my office sent Mayor Frey an email outlining a number of major concerns regarding the potential mismanagement of NSD, and forwarded the memo with these concerns to Council on May 10th. The memo requested that OCS leadership come to the Administration and Enterprise Oversight (AEO) Committee to provide a transparent public update on how they were going to address the identified management concerns and restore critical external partnerships.
Following the submission of the memo, a number of Council Members met with Mayor Frey and Office of Community Safety leadership to discuss the concerns further and there was shared agreement around having such an update come to this committee earlier this summer. This never happened, though my office has worked with Council Leadership to coordinate it on numerous occasions.
Given this, Council President Payne and I authored a legislative directive reflecting the outstanding questions that Office of Community Safety leadership has not answered. When Council is not able to obtain needed information via informal channels such as emails, legislative directives are the only tool that we have.
Key votes: The Administration and Enterprise Oversight Committee approves the legislative directive with unanswered questions about the Office of Community Safety’s plan to address operational challenges in the Neighborhood Safety Department. The Council will vote on the legislative directive on September 19th at 9:30am.
Summary: The Administration and Enterprise Oversight Committee unanimously approved a legislative directive authored by me and Council Member Chavez about procurement practices for violence prevention contracts.
Background: Earlier this year, Council Members were approached by the leadership of organizations that have contracts with the city to conduct violence prevention work with concerns that the city was not upholding our contracts and compensating these vendors for their invoices. This continued for several months, which is incredibly problematic for the city’s violence prevention services. The city’s failure to fill invoices for work that had already been performed led to several organizations ceasing or scaling back operations. It took a great deal of corrective efforts by Council Member Chavez and myself and some of our colleagues to simply get checks cut for organizations performing work.
In recognizing that this pattern wasn’t sustainable and the urgent need for systemic corrective action, Council Member Chavez and I worked with the Office of Community Safety to get an update on the Neighborhood Safety Department (NSD) presented to the Public Health and Safety (PHS) Committee earlier this summer. That presentation provided very little coverage of the department’s contract processes, and the Director even stated that NSD’s existing staggered contract process was working quite effectively, contradicting the consistent concerns about non-payment from our violence prevention partners.
Council Member Chavez and I knew it was imperative that we hear from the nation’s leading subject matter experts about how best to organize our contract and procurement processes to support the success of our violence prevention efforts. In early August, we brought several national violence prevention organizations to PHS who presented national best standards for violence prevention and who were ready to help the NSD review and improve their own contract processes. NSD has made progress in restoring partnerships with some of the national violence prevention organizations who presented, so there are now resources available for the city to carry out that review.
With that in mind, this legislative directive asks the administration to give an update on how procurement for violence prevention contracts is going, as well as how national best practices are being utilized to strengthen our violence prevention procurement and contract processes.
Key votes: The Administration and Enterprise Oversight Committee unanimously approves the legislative directive for updates on improvements that have been made to the city’s violence prevention procurement processes. The Council will vote on the legislative directive on September 19th at 9:30am.
Summary: The Administration and Enterprise Oversight Committee unanimously approved a staff direction I authored about data requests.
Background: Data requests are a cornerstone of government transparency. They allow residents to access public government data to learn more about what happens in City Hall. I have been contacted by a number of residents with concerns and questions about how data requests are triaged, what are the timelines for completion, and why some data requests seem to take far longer than others for reasons that do not appear related to the scope of the information being requested.
In response to these concerns, I authored a staff directive to create an opportunity for our Legislative Deaprtment’s Records and Information Management division to share some of the basics of data requests, their functionality and potential challenges, as well as data on key metrics.
Key votes: The Administration and Enterprise Oversight Committee unanimously approves the staff direction on data requests. The Council will vote on the legislative directive on September 19th at 9:30am.
The University of Minnesota Graduate Labor Union (GLU-UE Local 1105) was formed last year, and since then, has been in negotiations with University leadership to establish a bargaining contract that will provide the protections and resources needed to graduate workers. However, those conversations have taken a turn for the worse with university leaders pressing for provisions that ultimately hurt rather than help these essential workers. In response to this, GLU-UE has kicked off daily pickets to bring attention to their needs and demands, and to encourage university leaders to settle a fair and equitable contract with GLU-UE members. I had the opportunity to join one of their pickets last week. You can learn how best to support graduate student workers by clicking here.
CM Wonsley speaks at the Graduate Labor Union picket
Neighbors in Seward have worked with Hiawatha Collegiate High School on a gorgeous mural that covers the entire surface of the Greenway Bridge over 36th Ave! This weekend, muralists led by Thomasina TopBear conducted a 24-hour paint-a-thon in which they transformed the bridge. On Sunday, we celebrated with a community festival featuring music, dance performances, art cars, face painting, and watching the muralists on the final stretch. Thank you to 36th A.R.T., Hiawatha Academies leadership, and all the students and community members who made this possible.
CM Wonsley at the bridging cultures paint-a-thon
I had my quarterly visit to the Riverview Tower to speak with residents about local traffic issues, challenges that condos face in eligibility for residential sustainability programs, priorities for the 2025 budget, and more. Thank you Riverview Tower for having me!
I made my quarterly visit to the Pillars of Prospect Park. We discussed encampment response, exploring ways to support stable and affordable housing for seniors and elders, and more. Thank you Pillars residents!
Following passage of the Minnesota Debt Fairness Act last legislative session, the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office is excited to invite you to their office’s Debt Fairness Clinic on Saturday, October 5th, from 10am to 5pm at the NorthPoint Conference Center in Minneapolis. The clinic will feature Know Your Rights presentations on the new debt protections, one-on-one consultations with volunteer attorneys for personalized legal advice, and assistance with expunging criminal records. The expungement assistance builds onthe office’s 2024 Clean Slate Expungement Tour.
Minneapolis Debt Fairness Clinic
Free and open to the public
Saturday October 5th from 10am-5pm
NorthPoint Conference Center
1256 Penn Ave N, Suite 5200, Minneapolis MN 55411
Minneapolis debt fairness clinic flyer
Neighbors are organizing an arts festival at the old Tuttle School building. Artists, musicians, vendors, and community volunteers are invited to get involved! Email nshayevich@gmail.com or contact @Tuttle4People on Instagram to get involved. And save the date for the Tuttle Arts Festival on October 12th.
Tuttle Arts Festival flyer
Tuttle Arts Festival- Call for Artists
You can buy up to three trees today for just $30 each through Sept. 30 while supplies last.
Choose from shade trees, fruit trees, flowering trees and evergreen trees. Watch this video to see the types of trees you can get and the many benefits they provide.
Since the program began in 2006, the City Trees program has provided more than 20,000 low-cost trees for planting on private property, with 7,500 trees distributed in the last five years.
Funded by the Climate Legacy Initiative, we’re providing more low-cost trees than ever before.
Read more and purchase your trees while they last.
This annual community event celebrates our commitment to supporting small and mid-sized farmers and serving fresh and locally grown food in our school communities! At the BBQ there will be delicious local food, a chance to meet and hear from our farmers, activities for all ages, and a corn shucking competition. Our corn shucking competition is a highlight of the BBQ! We pair MPS students with Farm to School Champions to see how many cobs of corn they can shuck in 90 seconds. Feel free to share the flyer with family, friends, staff, and community – all are welcome.
Wednesday, September 18 (rain date - Sep. 19)
From 4:00 - 6:30pm
At the MPS Culinary and Wellness Services Center: 812 Plymouth Ave N, Minneapolis, MN 55411
The New Nicollet project team wants to hear from you, the people who live, work, and play near the New Nicollet site. The City of Minneapolis plans to reconnect Nicollet Avenue between Lake Street and Cecil Newman Lane, through the old Kmart site, beginning in 2025. After road construction, the City will work in partnership to develop the remaining site into a high-density, mixed-use, walkable area.
We want to hear about your priorities and desires for the site, so we can reflect that in the design and outcomes of the future redevelopment.
Right now, the City wants your input on the priorities for property uses and buildings on the New Nicollet site. For this phase of engagement, there are two big opportunities for everyone to get involved:
Visit the project webpage to find updated project information, project events and ways to get involved.
Please email staff with any questions.
Welcoming Week is recognized Sept. 13-22. This year’s theme is “We’re All In.” Welcoming Week is a nationwide initiative to bring together immigrants, refugees and native-born residents and foster a community where everyone feels a sense a belonging.
As a Welcoming City, the City of Minneapolis hosts annual events for Welcoming Week. We welcome new residents to the city. Because Citizenship Day always takes place during Welcoming Week, we also share information about how to become a United States citizen.
Welcoming Week events
Welcoming Week resolution before City Council Watch the recording of the resolution before the Sept. 5 council meeting on the City of Minneapolis YouTube channel.
Visit the City’s website for this year’s calendar of events and updates.
Office hours for immigrants and refugees
The Office of Immigrant & Refugee Affairs hosts weekly community office hours. Office hours provide basic information on immigration legal services, shelter resources, health care and more.
Stop by South Minneapolis CareerForce, 777 E. Lake St. 1- 4 p.m. Mondays and 2-4 p.m. Wednesdays.
Join your neighbors and explore vibrant spaces for walking, biking and rolling during two remaining Open Streets events this year.
Open Streets West Broadway Between Lyndale Avenue North and Penn Avenue North 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21
Hosted by the West Broadway Business Coalition, this event offers more than 250 vendors and activities across 17 blocks. Live music, dance performances and cultural showcases will celebrate the rich diversity of north Minneapolis. Pop-up markets and a cultural food court will feature the heritage of the community through handmade crafts and culinary delights.
Open Streets Nicollet Avenue From West 31st Street to West 46th Street 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28
Hosted by the Lyndale Neighborhood Association, this event offers more than 2 miles of music and magic. Come for the live music, art activities and inflatables, skateboard demonstrations and a 5K Run for Beer. Restaurants will offer food and drink specials with special menu items only found at Open Streets.
Read more on the City website.
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, hu 311. Hadii aad caawimaad u baahantahay, wac 311. |
