Council Member Jamal Osman
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10/21/2024
Dear Ward 6 Neighbors,
Here’s a brief review of our last council cycle and the key initiatives we’ve been working on. We focused on community engagement, addressing local safety concerns, and enhancing neighborhood resources. Together, we’ve made progress on several important projects aimed at improving the quality of life in our area. Thank you for your continued support and involvement!
CM - Jamal Osman
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Program Year 2023 Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Funding Recommendations (2024-01116)
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Action: Council approved up to $80,536.40 of 2023 Emergency Solutions Grant funds for essential services and shelter operations.
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Background:
- The federal Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Program provides funds that may be used for a variety of purposes, including street outreach, rapid rehousing, emergency shelter renovation, essential services, shelter operations, and administrative costs. Recipients of ESG funds are required by law to provide for the participation of at least one homeless or formerly homeless person(s) in a policy-making function in the organization, are required to participate in a Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) and are required to collect data on all universal elements as defined in HMIS.
- Hennepin County and the City of Minneapolis jointly work together to administer the homelessness response system in Hennepin County. Hennepin County acts as the lead entity in setting strategy and providing services, while the City supports the effort by working to build permanent supportive housing, supporting shelter capital improvements, and directing federal funds that it receives for responding to homelessness, in consultation with Hennepin County and community partners.
- In June 2024, the Council approved allocation of up to $450,000 of 2022 ESG funds to rapid rehousing, essential services, street outreach, and/or shelter operations. However, HUD imposes a 60% cap on the amount of annual ESG funding the City can spend on shelter and rapid rehousing activities, and that allocation, combined with prior awards for those uses, exceeded the annual cap by $80,536.40. As a result, program dollars must be shifted between contracts and funding years, to ensure that HUD’s funding caps are followed.
- Staff recommends allocation of $80,536.40 in unspent funds from program year 2023 ESG funding to fund rapid rehousing, essential services, street outreach and/or shelter operations. The 2022 allocation of funds will be reduced by the same amount and instead used to fund rapid rehousing costs. This swap can be accomplished administratively and without additional council action.
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Program Year 2023 Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Funding Recommendations (2024-01116)
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Action: Council approved up to $80,536.40 of 2023 Emergency Solutions Grant funds for essential services and shelter operations.
-
Background:
- The federal Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Program provides funds that may be used for a variety of purposes, including street outreach, rapid rehousing, emergency shelter renovation, essential services, shelter operations, and administrative costs. Recipients of ESG funds are required by law to provide for the participation of at least one homeless or formerly homeless person(s) in a policy-making function in the organization, are required to participate in a Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) and are required to collect data on all universal elements as defined in HMIS.
- Hennepin County and the City of Minneapolis jointly work together to administer the homelessness response system in Hennepin County. Hennepin County acts as the lead entity in setting strategy and providing services, while the City supports the effort by working to build permanent supportive housing, supporting shelter capital improvements, and directing federal funds that it receives for responding to homelessness, in consultation with Hennepin County and community partners.
- In June 2024, the Council approved allocation of up to $450,000 of 2022 ESG funds to rapid rehousing, essential services, street outreach, and/or shelter operations. However, HUD imposes a 60% cap on the amount of annual ESG funding the City can spend on shelter and rapid rehousing activities, and that allocation, combined with prior awards for those uses, exceeded the annual cap by $80,536.40. As a result, program dollars must be shifted between contracts and funding years, to ensure that HUD’s funding caps are followed.
- Staff recommends allocation of $80,536.40 in unspent funds from program year 2023 ESG funding to fund rapid rehousing, essential services, street outreach and/or shelter operations. The 2022 allocation of funds will be reduced by the same amount and instead used to fund rapid rehousing costs. This swap can be accomplished administratively and without additional council action.
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Twin Cities Housing Alliance Update (2024-01155)
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Action: Receiving and filling an update from Twin Cities Housing Alliance (TCHA)
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Background: Twin Cities Housing Alliance (TCHA) is a solutions-oriented alliance of experienced and knowledgeable professionals across the Twin Cities region’s housing continuum and ecosystem. Their members have decades of experience building, preserving, managing, financing, and helping develop policies for housing throughout the Twin Cities. TCHA works to inform and advocate for local and regional housing policies that support a more affordable, equitable, economically vital, and environmentally sustainable future for the Twin Cities community. They focus on facilitating dialogue, developing solutions, and catalyzing action at the local and regional level. They provide substantive expertise and technical assistance for policy development, as well as guidance and support for better communicating and engaging with diverse housing stakeholders.
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Contract amendment with Metro Youth Diversion Center for MinneapolUS Strategic Outreach Initiative (2024-01133)
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Action: We approved an additional $200,000 for Metro Youth Diversion Center, bringing the total to $2,597,177. This funding supports violence prevention and outreach efforts as part of the MinneapolUS Strategic Outreach Initiative.
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Background: MinneapolUS was initiated to operationalize a violence prevention model that includes building teams of violence interrupters and outreach workers to;
- 1) Detect potentially violent situations and use informal mediation, non-physical conflict resolution, and interruption expertise to de-escalate before they become violent
- 2) Address barriers and reduce risk by providing resources and service referrals to those who need them. The initiative complements the Department of Neighborhood Safety’s existing continuum of community-oriented violence prevention, intervention, and response. It relies upon the wisdom, expertise, and influence of local communities and is designed to serve Minneapolis with the City’s unique communities and neighborhoods in mind. At the same time, it draws inspiration from evidence-based models of this kind of work.
- Metro Youth Diversion Center's teams focus on peacemaking, violence interruption, and community engagement.
- This amendment will introduce a team of visible ambassadors or community messengers to address challenges and deter problematic behavior, particularly among individuals facing substance use issues in the Elliot Park Neighborhood. The Neighborhood Safety Department (NSD) is requesting to amend the agreement with Metro Youth Diversion Center to continue services.
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Contract amendments with various immigration legal services providers offering free immigration legal services to City residents (2024-01135)
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Action: We are approving increases to several contracts for immigration legal services:
- Mid Minnesota Legal Aid: Increasing their contract by $50,000, making the total not to exceed $100,000.
- International Institute of Minnesota: Increasing their contract by $10,075, bringing the total to a maximum of $35,075.
- Volunteer Lawyers Network: Increasing their contract (COM0007516) by $36,000, for a total amount not to exceed $106,000.
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Background: In 2017, the City Council first allocated funding towards immigration legal services to support city resident efforts to achieve greater safety and security through accessing free immigration legal information and representation. In 2023, as a result of an RFP process, Council approved establishment of a pool of 5 immigration legal service providers.
- The amendments include increase in amount and expansion of scope of service for work to run through December 31, 2024. Expansion of scope of services will include activities such as offering legal consultation and representation on a broader category of immigration related legal matters, preparing videos on immigration related topics, hosting and expanding in person community hours, and delivering know your rights events on immigration related topics of importance to the City of Minneapolis resident population born abroad.
- These amendments will support efforts to ensure the non-US born Minneapolis resident population is able to quickly access immigration legal information and services in convenient and welcoming spaces that are already familiar to them, including welcoming spaces hosted by the City of Minneapolis, and efforts to ensure that residents have more and additional direct paths to immediately access competent immigration legal information and representation.
- Program Year 2023 Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Funding Recommendations (2024-01116)
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Action: Council approved up to $80,536.40 of 2023 Emergency Solutions Grant funds for essential services and shelter operations.
-
Background:
- The federal Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Program provides funds that may be used for a variety of purposes, including street outreach, rapid rehousing, emergency shelter renovation, essential services, shelter operations, and administrative costs. Recipients of ESG funds are required by law to provide for the participation of at least one homeless or formerly homeless person(s) in a policy-making function in the organization, are required to participate in a Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) and are required to collect data on all universal elements as defined in HMIS.
- Hennepin County and the City of Minneapolis jointly work together to administer the homelessness response system in Hennepin County. Hennepin County acts as the lead entity in setting strategy and providing services, while the City supports the effort by working to build permanent supportive housing, supporting shelter capital improvements, and directing federal funds that it receives for responding to homelessness, in consultation with Hennepin County and community partners.
- In June 2024, the Council approved allocation of up to $450,000 of 2022 ESG funds to rapid rehousing, essential services, street outreach, and/or shelter operations. However, HUD imposes a 60% cap on the amount of annual ESG funding the City can spend on shelter and rapid rehousing activities, and that allocation, combined with prior awards for those uses, exceeded the annual cap by $80,536.40. As a result, program dollars must be shifted between contracts and funding years, to ensure that HUD’s funding caps are followed.
- Staff recommends allocation of $80,536.40 in unspent funds from program year 2023 ESG funding to fund rapid rehousing, essential services, street outreach and/or shelter operations. The 2022 allocation of funds will be reduced by the same amount and instead used to fund rapid rehousing costs. This swap can be accomplished administratively and without additional council action.
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Office of Community Safety Quarterly Update (2024-00703)
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Action: Receiving and filing an update relating to the work of the Office of Community Safety (OCS) from the past quarter and a preview of upcoming work.
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Background: The Office of Community Safety (OCS) and its departments provide a wide range of safety services to Minneapolis Communities. This update will summarily detail the recent work of OCS and preview community safety work that will be happening during the remainder of this year.
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Copper Wire Theft legislative directive (2024-01108)
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Action: Receiving and filing an update on street lighting copper wire theft regarding where the problem is occurring and how staff are responding to the problem including response times, repair prioritization, and state level response.
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Background: On September 26th, the Climate and Infrastructure committee approved a legislative directive to request a presentation on street lighting copper wire theft. The directive requests a response that outlines where the theft is occurring, how staff are responding to street light outages, how long it takes to fix outages due to theft, how outage areas are prioritized, what relationship staff have to scrap metal resellers, what is happening at the state level to combat this, and how the city could advocate for legislative changes to combat the theft. The attached presentation summarizes these updates and analyses.
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Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC) closure (2024-01078)
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Action: Receiving and filing public comment on a plan for closure of the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC) located in downtown Minneapolis.
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Background: On August 22, 2024, Hennepin County representatives gave a presentation on the plan to reinvent Hennepin County's solid waste system, and Minneapolis Solid Waste & Recycling Division staff gave an update on the Zero waste programming since the adoption of the 2017 Zero Waste Plan and the 2023 Climate Equity Plan. The presentations touched on existing waste management programs & plans at the county and city levels, barriers to waste diversion, and the necessary actions & considerations to achieve our zero waste goals and stop incineration at the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC). The proposed resolution aims to position the City of Minneapolis in support of more robust funding and programming towards its zero waste goals, and the of long-standing, community-driven ask to shut down the HERC. The public comment period is to receive and consider feedback from the public on the proposed resolution draft.
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Development at the site of the former Third Precinct (3000 Minnehaha Ave) relating to the proposed warehouse and supporting community development (2024-01158)
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Action: Passage of Resolution expressing statements of position pertaining to the development and future use of 3000 Minnehaha Avenue.
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Background: Since the civil unrest in 2020, the Frey administration has let the site of the former Third Precinct (3000 Minnehaha Ave.) sit empty. Neighbors organized through the Longfellow Community Council to process their relationships to the site and discuss priorities for the future. In early 2022, the Council allocated $100,000 for community engagement on the future of the site, which was instead spent on a community engagement process around the location of a new Third Precinct. Residents overwhelmingly responded that they wanted to see the city invest in Truth and Reconciliation and racial healing before moving forward with any new Third Precinct building. The City Council passed a Resolution opposing any future use of the 3000 Minnehaha Ave site for law enforcement.
- In 2023, the City Council allocated funds for cleanup of 3000 Minnehaha Ave. due to overwhelming advocacy from neighbors to remove the barricades and barbed wire that have surrounded the property for years. The Frey administration committed to executing this cleanup by spring/summer of 2024, although it has not happened as of October 2024.
- In 2024, Mayor Frey proposed locating the city's Elections and Voter Services Center (EVS Center or "Democracy Center") to 3000 Minnehaha Ave. This proposal was not based on the outcomes of any community engagement, nor was it accompanied by any commitment to Truth and Reconciliation or racial healing. The Mayor's proposal to locate the EVS Center at 3000 Minnehaha is now undergoing community engagement. Regardless of the conclusions from the engagement process, there is broad agreement that any development at the site should not include any type of warehouse structure. This consensus is due to both the desire to make the best use of the site as well as the unique historic and social meaning of the area.
Visit: minneapolismn.gov/ward6
Email: jamal.osman@minneapolismn.gov
Phone: 612-673-2206
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 asistencia, llame al 311. Rau kev pab 311. Hadii aad Caawimaad u baahantahay 311.
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