Longfellow Community Council annual meeting
The Longfellow Community Council held its annual meeting at Minnehaha Academy in Minneapolis. Senator Patricia Torres Ray, Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin, and Noah Schuchman, aide to Ward 9 Council Member Gary Schiff, attended.
LCC BOARD ELECTIONS: Assembled residents elected representatives to the board for each of the four neighborhoods in Greater Longfellow. Current board members Scott Cramer, Stacy Behm, Judy Corrao, Don Hammen, and Jay Kelly will represent Longfellow, Howe, Hiawatha, and Cooper respectively. Jay Hambidge, Ella Rausch, and, Susan Tertell joined the board to represent Longfellow, Howe, and Cooper. Neighborhood representatives serve 2-year staggered terms.
Residents elected current board member Ed Leaf as the at-large board representative for a three-year term. However, he agreed to cede this seat to John Jensen who was also interested in serving on the board. Because Leaf owns a business in Longfellow, he took the business representative seat on the board. Residents elected Lisa Boyd as a community representative to the board.
The board changed its by-laws to reduce the number of members from 21 to 15. This election filled every open seat on the board.
HOWE REUSE TASKFORCE: LCC had given the taskforce the directive to examine the viability of reusing Howe School for artist space, education or senior housing. Taskforce member Beverly Conerton told the audience that they have had interest from Artspace, an organization that finds housing and studio space for artists. The taskforce has a meeting on April 29 with Metro Plains, a company that develops housing for seniors. Conerton said that charter schools have also expressed interest in the Howe School building.
The taskforce will forward their progress to the School Board and ask for more time to explore these options.
COMMUNITY BENEFITS AGREEMENT: Taskforce members Beverly Conerton and Ralph Wyman told the assembled residents that the Community Benefits Agreement (CBA), which took two years to finalize, has been signed. A CBA is a private contract between a developer and a community group that outlines the benefits that the community will get from the development. In this case, the CBA will govern the residential and retail complex being developed at the old Purina Mills site.
“I don’t think there are many other neighborhoods that would have put in what this neighborhood did. Or come to the table with open minds, willing to put aside egos and get this done,” said Dale Joel, the developer of the Purina Mills site.
NRP FIGHT AND MINNEHAHA CREEK BONDING BILL: Senator Torres Ray thanked the board for its hard work on behalf of the Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP) and pledged to continue to fight for the program.
The Senator told the audience that she was able to secure $2.9 million to rebuild the retaining walls along Minnehaha Creek.
NEXT: Board meeting, May 15, 2008
MEETINGS: 3rd Thursday monthly, 6:30 p.m., check www.longfellow.org or call 612-722-4529 for meeting location
CONTACT: 722-4529, www.longfellow.org
BORDERS: Mississippi River to Hiawatha Ave., Minnehaha Park to 27th St. railroad tracks
last revised: April 23, 2008