Ward 2 Updates

Council Member Robin Wonsley

Ward 2 Updates from Council Member Robin Wonsley

April 1, 2024

Dear Community,

This week the Council is having a Ward Week, meaning there are no committee meetings. Council has had an incredibly productive first quarter, including creating Work Plans to structure and focus each committee’s priorities, initiating work on over twenty-five ordinances and funding dozens of programs and projects, and connecting with residents at a wide variety of community events. The term is off to a great start, and I am so excited to keep up the work for the rest of 2024 and 2025. 

My office is still available by email during Ward Week. Please reach out to Ward2@minneapolismn.gov with any ideas, concerns, or feedback. 

Sincerely,

Council Member Robin Wonsley



Updates from City Hall

Rideshare ordinance

The passage of the rideshare minimum compensation ordinance has sparked a citywide conversation about how we can build an affordable and reliable rideshare industry that does not rely on poverty wages. Here are some updates on ordinance implementation:

New rideshare companies:

  • Several new Rideshare Companies have applied for Business Licenses and/or made public announcements about their intention to obtain licenses and begin operating this spring: MOOV, Wridz, Joiryde, and new local startups Hich and MyWheels. Local drivers are also working with the team behind the New York Drivers Coop to launch a worker-owned rideshare company in Minneapolis. 
    • The Drivers Co-op has launched an onboarding app to sign up drivers and riders before the app goes live. The driver app can be downloaded here and the rider app can be downloaded here. There are currently about 1,000 drivers and 1,500 riders signed up. For clarity, this company has not yet been licensed by the city of Minneapolis. 
  • Many of these new companies are owned by people of color and Minneapolis residents. These companies are launching in response to the new minimum wage. Competition is good for both drivers and riders and I am pleased to see local residents have the opportunity to engage as business owners in the new rideshare ecosystem.  
  • We continue to be in conversation with drivers, who have been engaged with several of the potential new rideshare companies. They are eager for the opportunity to partner with these new potential companies. 
  • Supplemental Small Business Financing: Council Members are working with city staff to remove startup barriers for new rideshare companies and ensure a smooth transition. Stay tuned for more information.

Coordination with the state

  • State/Council Meeting: Fair Drives co-authors, Council Leadership, and the Intergovernmental Relations (IGR) Chair met with State House and State Senate leadership to discuss our respective rideshare policies, ways we can strengthen collaboration, the importance of Minneapolis retaining our local control, and the impacts of preemption, as well as action steps that Council have and will be taking to prepare for May 1st. It was a productive conversation and I look forward to remaining in close collaboration. 
  • DLI Rideshare Briefings: The leadership of the State Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) and IGR Chair held initial briefings for Council Members on the DLI Rideshare Study. All Council Members will have the opportunity to receive a briefing before May 1st. 
  • The city’s Policy and Research (PAR) division is in contact with the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) with the goal of getting any available Minneapolis-specific data that can assist us with the required ongoing evaluation of the ordinance.

Disability justice

  • We are working on a committee presentation about MetroMobility on-demand. Stay tuned to upcoming committee agendas.

Key votes: No votes taken

Racial Equity Inclusion and Belonging update- SREAP

The Administration and Enterprise Oversight (AEO) Committee received a presentation on the work of the Race Equity Inclusion and Belonging (REIB) Department. 

A key part of the update was an analysis of the Strategic Racial Equity Action Plan (SREAP). The SREAP is supposed to set measurable, time-bound, specific goals to focus and align the city’s work towards racial equity. Some of the key takeaways of the presentation were that:

  • 9 out of 26 (34.6%) City enterprise departments/offices responsible for 100% of SREAP Work)
  • 3 out of 26 (11.5%) of departments/offices bear the greatest burden for attaining SREAP goals (City Clerk, CPED, REIB owners for 2 out of 7 (29%) of priorities)
  • 17 City departments (65%) have no responsibility for the City reaching SREAP goals 

I look forward to working with the REIB Department to revamp the SREAP metrics to ensure that every department has specific, measurable, and time-bound goals related to racial equity. 

Key votes: No votes taken

Racial equity inclusion and belonging update- Truth and Reconciliation

The Administration and Enterprise Oversight (AEO) Committee received a presentation on the work of the Race Equity Inclusion and Belonging (REIB) Department. 

One of REIB’s key priorities is supporting a Truth and Reconciliation (T&R) process. The city publicly committed to doing a Truth and Reconciliation process in 2020, but has taken no action so far. Last term, the need for a Truth and Reconciliation process was highlighted in both the 2020 Civil Unrest After Action and the 3rd Precinct Engagement Process. Residents have been clear consistently that the city’s unwillingness to accept responsibility for the actions that lead to the 2020 civil unrest and repeated attempts to deflect four years later, continue to undermine trust-building between the public and the city. 

Last year, I helped lead the effort to ensure that REIB had adequate funds for T&R staff and programming to begin this year and I look forward to residents finally having a formal medium in which they can express their concerns and expectations for how the city will move forward.

Key votes: no votes taken. 

Opioid response presentations

Throughout my term, residents have consistently reached out to my office and to other Council Members about the growing opioid crisis that is impacting communities all across our city. In light of these concerns, residents have also reached out to my office requesting information about plans and action steps that the city intends to employ to combat this crisis. When I learned that the city had no comprehensive response plan in place, I decided to bring a legislative directive forward last August, that asked the city to present a short-term and long-term opioid response strategy to Council by late March 2024.

The Public Health and Safety Committee (PHS) received the city’s presentation last week. Some key points from the presentation include: (1) while there is still no comprehensive strategies in place, the city has spent the past year working with other government agencies, opioid experts & healthcare professionals on a variety of initiatives, (2) adequate funding is available to the support city’s opioid efforts as a result of the opioid settlement, and the city is pursuing other grant opportunities at the municipal, state, and federal level, and (3) the city has created a opioid strategic planning process that will tentatively yield a comprehensive opioid response plan by June 2024. 

In addition to the city’s presentation, PHS also received a presentation from the State Director of Addiction and Recovery about the state’s response to the opioid epidemic. 

Key votes: No votes taken

Laborers local 363 contract approved

The Administration and Enterprise Oversight Committee approved the contract with Laborers Local 363. This historic contract will significantly improve wages for hundreds of the workers who maintain basic city infrastructure. Workers won this contract after voting 98% to strike. 

Key votes: Administration and Enterprise Oversight Committee votes to recommend Laborers 363 contract to Council. Council will vote on approving the contract on April 11th. 

Meet Minneapolis destination master plan

My office met with representatives from Meet Minneapolis who are developing a destination master plan to guide the development of a thriving, equitable tourism industry over the next 10-20 years. My top priorities include:

  • Tourism that doesn’t come at the cost of working class people (i.e. Regulating hotels and Airbnbs so they don’t limit the  housing stock)
  • Workers’ rights and a fair tourism economy
  • Infrastructure that serves residents, in addition to tourism
  • 24-hour public transportation
  • Protect the Mississippi River, complete the Grand Rounds Missing Link, and protect our amazing natural attractions.

Key votes: No votes taken

Climate Legacy Initiative

The Climate and Infrastructure (C&I) Committee received an update on the Climate Legacy Initiative. 

Key votes: No votes taken

Winter Walking and Biking study

The Climate and Infrastructure (C&I) Committee received a presentation on the 2024 Winter Walking and Biking study. My office has consistently pushed for winter accessibility to be a key priority of the city’s Public Works program, in partnership with residents who have raised this issue for years. Obviously, this winter has been abnormal when it comes to snowfall and winter conditions. That said, this study represents a significant move forward towards city-led winter sidewalk maintenance. 

Additionally, last year my office secured funding for several sidewalk plowing pilots. Those pilots are set to launch later this fall.

Key votes: No votes taken

Community happenings

Seward Community Meeting

I hosted a Seward Community Meeting. We heard updates from the 3rd Precinct Inspector and Crime Prevention Specialist and discussed recent crime trends, the Community Safety Center, and more. The Seward Neighborhood Group shared updates on many upcoming events and a neighborhood grant opportunity. You can read the notes here

Seward Community Meeting

2633 Minnehaha Community Engagement Session (South Minneapolis Community Safety Center)

I attended the Community Engagement Session that the Longfellow Community Council hosted at the Powderhorn Park Recreation Center. I heard neighbors express confusion about the purpose of the safety center as well as frustration due to residents' lack of trust in the city enterprise, underscoring the need for a Truth and Reconciliation process to begin as soon as possible. I also heard residents continue to express that they want the city to explore other precinct models such as small substations. Residents also expressed excitement about the Lake Street Safety model, which doesn’t include police, but will offer a variety of non-armed safety services as well as social services tailored to the needs of the surrounding community.

For more updates about South Minneapolis Community Safety Center, click here

Additionally, many of the 3rd Precinct Council Members have also heard similar concerns to those expressed at this meeting. To obtain clarity about the city’s plans for the safety center, 3rd Precinct Council Members have been in conversation with Mayor Frey to schedule meetings to talk through concerns and to map out needed action steps. We look forward to having our initial meeting mid-April. 

2633 Meeting

Prospect Park Association Meeting

I attended the Prospect Park Association monthly meeting. I had a great time sharing updates and speaking with residents about their priorities.

Vacancy Tour

Residents led a vacancy tour to look at some of the vacant and boarded commercial and residential properties in Elliott Park, and talk about the challenges of chronic vacancy citywide. Concerns like these are what led my office to initiate an ordinance on vacancy fees and vacancy abatement. 


Contact Ward 2

Visit: minneapolismn.gov/ward2
Email: ward2@minneapolismn.gov
Phone: 612-673-2202

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