City of Minneapolis sent this bulletin at 05/24/2024 07:38 PM CDT
Council Member Linea Palmisano
May 24, 2024
Tia Delivering Letters in 2014; Tia with CM Palmisano
Dear Neighbor,
While my Senior Policy Aide, Ruth Olson, has been temporarily detailed to a position in the Office of Public Service, we have a new face joining our team. Antonia Lindner, otherwise known as Tia, is a rising Junior at Drake University studying Law, Politics and Society with a minor in Data Analytics. She's interested in public policy and legislative authority. In her free time, she loves hanging out around the chain of lakes and going to local restaurants.
Tia is a longtime resident of the Lynnhurst neighborhood. In 2014, she wrote letters to all of her representatives–from the municipal level all the way up to President Obama. She remembers the excitement of receiving a reply from my office (from my first year in office!), and she’s excited to provide that same level of constituent service to each of you.
Yesterday afternoon and evening, a group of juveniles was active in Southwest Minneapolis. There were multiple incidents reported to police, including motor vehicle thefts and armed robberies. Crime began in the north end of the Fifth Precinct and migrated south. Suspects were described as three juvenile males ages 12-15 years old. The Robbery Suppression Protocol was activated, and the Sergeant requested additional patrols for the area.
As the weather warms up, we generally see an increase in criminal activity across the city. Please remain aware of your surroundings, lock your vehicle and home, report all suspicious activity to 911, and ensure you file a police report if you are a victim of crime. The safety of our community and my neighbors is my number one priority.
We take great pride in hosting the most block parties of any ward in our city and beyond each and every year, whether it is National Night Out or otherwise! It is an important opportunity to connect with neighbors and has a year-round impact on safety in our area. Residents may have noticed an issue with the National Night Out/ Residential Block Permit application process, which now asks residents to provide a 75% property notification/ approval, a planning meeting prior to registration, and proof of insurance.
The Residential Block Permit Application was mistakenly “merged” with the Commercial Block Closure Permit online, creating these additional, unnecessary requirements. Public Works and IT are working to resolve and correct the application. Please be patient and reach out to our office if your planned event is coming up and you are having trouble.
Minneapolis will celebrate National Night Out 2024 on Tuesday, August 6. The registration deadline is still July 30th, five days before the event. Residents can call 311 to request a fire truck, MPD K9, and/ or MPD mounted patrol.
I am grateful that work at the State Legislature and pressure from Governor Walz has resulted in a compromise that will allow Uber and Lyft to continue operations in Minneapolis and beyond, with a roughly 14% raise for rideshare driver minimum compensation. I know this is a tremendous relief for many in our community. In the end, the state landed on a rate extremely close to that of Mayor Frey’s proposed rates from months ago that the City Council rejected by override of his last veto on it 10-3. I was one of the three. The state then also, very specifically, took control away from the city on this matter through preemption. You can see yesterday’s council meeting discussion on this topic and my own comments about it. For an article about the last few months this Star Tribune article thoroughly explains the path taken.
This ordinance resulted in thousands of contacts from devastated, anxious residents, many of them low-income, seniors, or individuals with disabilities. And at the state level, there was an opportunity cost to getting this rideshare bill done. Significant needs of our city were left unattended to, such as funding for Nicollet Avenue Bridge repair, public works infrastructure costs, and Roof Depot compensation.
I was not part of the decision making for the US Bank Stadium, it predates me as your Council Member. But I was the Council Member during its build, as well as a proponent for using bird-safe glass in its ultimate construction. And I still feel strongly that we will not have a world class stadium in our city until it is modified with appropriate glass in this space for the incredible bird migration that occurs annually along the Mississippi River shores. This advocacy and policy study ultimately led me to author and pass our current Minneapolis Bird Safe Glass ordinance back in 2016, which is being used in the city's new skyways downtown. Volunteers from the Audubon Chapter of Minneapolis recently set out to test if the downtown skyways using bird safe glass are effective, and there was an article about it in the Star Tribune. These volunteers have been collecting bird death data on the skyways and comparing it to buildings not yet using bird safe glass. Audubon's data suggests that the 2016 Minneapolis ordinance is working, as volunteers haven't yet found any bird death evidence beneath the skyways built since then. One of my priorities for our built environment remains a transition to bird-friendly cities practices along our important Mississippi Flyway.
Readers interested in volunteering as citizen scientists for this and future monitoring projects can contact admin@audubonminneapolis.org.
The METRO E Line is a planned bus rapid transit (BRT) line that will provide faster and more reliable transit service in the Route 6 corridor along University Avenue/4th Street, Hennepin Avenue, and France Avenue from the University of Minnesota to Southdale.
Station Construction
E Line construction will take place over the 2024 and 2025 construction seasons. Stations to be constructed beginning in June 2024:
Upton & 43rd Street (construction coordinated with City of Minneapolis sewer and water utility improvements at this intersection)
France & 44th Street*
France & 47th Street*
France & 50th Street*
France & 54th Street*
France & 58th Street
* Additional pedestrian safety improvements will be constructed at these intersections in coordination with Hennepin County.
Construction Staging and Timeline
Construction will occur at five intersections on France Avenue. Throughout construction, France Avenue will remain open to northbound traffic. Southbound traffic will be detoured to Xerxes Ave. Local access to northbound and southbound traffic on France Avenue will remain open between station intersections.
Pedestrian access to all properties will be maintained, and a minimum of three accessible pedestrian crossings will be maintained at each intersection.
Construction is expected to last approximately fourteen weeks and conclude in September 2024.
Minneapolis Public Works Department is implementing a large-scale manhole rehabilitation project within the Fulton Neighborhood. The City and its contractor, Hiperline, will be lining manholes to prevent failure and extend their useful life.
When Hiperline is at an individual manhole, there will be noise and minor traffic disruptions. “No Parking” signs will also be posted within and near the immediate work zone. Our goal is to maintain access to properties as best as we can during this time. Hiperline will make every attempt to accommodate the needs of the residents in the project area.
As The Minnesota Timberwolves season continues, City crews have made some fun modifications downtown to capture the excitement we are feeling around the Western Conference Finals. Public Works, Public Safety, and others have been planning on some expansions of use for local establishments to help create a safe place to enjoy the positive atmosphere and cheer on our team! We had a chance to approve this walk-on permit at yesterday’s council meeting, and I am thrilled to see it finally coming together. Every home game will feature a “Wolves Back” Block Party outside of Gluek’s Bar (corner of 1st Ave and 6th St), across from Target Center. This is a way to bring our city downtown and include live music, food and drinks, and a big screen to watch the games together.
To register for a free ticket and get more details, including the no-bag policy and map, are here: Wolves Back Block Party
One of the best parts of my job is getting to meet with my constituents, learn more about you and hear your questions, concerns, hopes and dreams for our shared community.
If you'd like to schedule a time to meet with me, send me an e-mailand my staff will help get it scheduled. Please let me know what you'd like to talk about and a convenient place to meet—a coffee shop, a park, your home, my office, etc. I try to reserve Fridays for constituent meetings, but can work them in other times, as necessary, too.
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.
