Located in the heart of Minneapolis, the Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood is a complex and active business and residential community. Its borders include Downtown West, Downtown East and the North Loop, see attachment A for a map.
The Downtown Neighborhood has more than 3,037 housing units that are homes to over 4,461 residents according to the most recent census data. Twenty four percent of the housing units are owner-occupied and 64 percent are renter-occupied. The Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood is a major commercial base for all of Minnesota with headquarters for City Hall, Hennepin County major corporations, and major entertainment like the Metrodome and Target Center. For census figures describing the 4,461 residents of Downtown, please see attachment B.
One of the major challenges that the downtown neighborhood faces is to be recognized as a legitimate neighborhood. DMRA needs to constantly perpetuate the realization among all elements of the community that, although uniquely different from the city's other, primarily residential neighborhoods, downtown is, none the less a neighborhood which includes thousands of residents and is deserving of the same considerations afforded to other communities. For instance, the concentration of adult entertainment businesses and crime/safety issues are very important to downtown residents. DMRA needs to encourage city officials to embrace this belief and not to allow the concentration of undesirable land uses, that other neighborhoods have rejected and harms the character of our neighborhood. DMRA believes that community building is the best way to be recognized as a legitimate neighborhood and is committed to improving and enhancing the living conditions of downtown residents.
Due to the positive relationship that can be fostered between downtown Minneapolis residents and businesses, DMRA has and will continue to make efforts to encourage the input and participation of both businesses of all types and residents. A list of under represented groups that will be encouraged to be involved in the NRP planning process will include: renters, the elderly, people from all ethnic backgrounds, people from all sexual orientation, the disabled, and youth. Outreach will be accomplished by mailings, publications in the Skyway News, phone calls and focus groups.
All steering Committee members must live, own property or work in either the Downtown West, Downtown East, or the North Loop area. DMRA will work in cooperation with the League of Women Voters in order to create our NRP Steering Committee. Any organization or person with a commitment to Downtown's future will be encouraged to participate in the creation and involvement of the NRP process. DMRA Board members will contact these interested parties in person and by mailings.
Public announcements will be made in February/March so that people will be aware of how to apply and be elected to the Steering Committee. Outreach efforts will include notices in the Skyway News, letters to businesses, organizations, and residents, announcements at Building Associations, and notices in residential elevators. Interested parties must submit a completed Steering Committee application by March 12. DMRA and the League of Women Voters will then hold an open election of voters who live, own property or work in one of the Downtown West, Downtown East, or North Loop areas.
The committee wil be comprised of no more than 13 members and 3 alternates. The Steering Committee will include at least one person from the following five groups:
Also preferred are:
A DMRA goal will be to conduct some youth outreach to include youth input into the NRP process. Although Downtown is not home to many youth, many youth find their way to our neighborhood (i.e. City Center and the Federal Reserve Building). Outreach methods could include surveying the youth as they "hang-out" to find out why they come to our neighborhood and research some alternatives to "hanging-out"
The Steering Committee meetings will be open to the public yet only Steering committee members will be able to vote. In the event that Steering Committee members can not fulfill their duties, replacement members will be appointed by the DMRA Board with first consideration given to initial applications.
DMRA, Inc. is the fiscal agent of the downtown NRP process. The downtown NRP and Steering Committee receive funds through DMRA, Inc.
The downtown Steering Committee is a committee of DMRA, Inc. The downtown Steering Committee is subject to general DMRA Board policy like any other DMRA committee or task force.
The Steering Committee will be free to conduct business without interference from the DMRA Board as long as the Steering Committee makes a good faith effort to follow this Participation Agreement. If a dispute arises between the Board of the DMRA and the Steering Committee as to whether or not the Steering Committee is using its good faith efforts to follow this Participation Agreement, the two bodies, or their delegated representatives, will meet to develop a strategy to rectify the situation.
The Steering Committee will schedule monthly meetings and will report to the DMRA Board at its Board meetings or in writing. The Steering Committee shall be the recipient of moneys it is entitled to receive and establish a budget for itself.
Goal 1 Publicize the Planning Process
Goal 2 Collect Community Input to Identify Neighborhood Concerns
Goal 3 Identify and Select Issues
Goal 4 Create Task Forces to Research Each Issue or Town Meeting
Goal 5 Prioritize Issues and Develop Solution
Goal 6 Write Draft Plan
Goal 7 Encourage Feedback and Review from Community
Goal 8 Correct Draft Plan and Write Final Draft of Plan
The Steering Committee,will encourage and promote community participation through the following methods that have proven successful for our neighborhood:
a) Articles in the Skyway News
b) Notices in Residential Building's Elevators
c) Letters and or phone calls to residents
d) Faxes to Organizations
e) Announcements at Building Association Meetings
The Steering Committee will also seek people to serve on different task forces, which it will ultimately form in June 1996.
Steering Committee meetings will be held on a schedule which will be announced. These meetings are open to the public to maximize community input. The Steering Committee will conduct surveys which may include mailings and personal interviews to collect community input.
After collecting community input as described in goal 1, the
Steering Committee will determine major areas of concern. It
will be the Steering Committee's task to narrow and group the
major areas of concern into categories. For example: grouping
Skyway safety with loitering and panhandleing
concerns.
The Steering Committee will create task forces or town meetings to address each grouping of major area concern. The role of these task forces or town meetings will be to research the issue to determine the need, the depth and possible solutions for the issue. The research may include but is not limited to speaking with residents, businesses, city officials, collecting data, speaking with other Neighborhood Organizations, learning laws concerning issue, and researching other cities. One major research area could include examining other NRP Plans.
Task forces meet to discuss and research goals and plan objectives for these goals. If community meetings are also conducted, then the community will discuss goals and research objectives for these goals.
The Steering Committee will conduct a community meeting to prioritize the grouping of major area concerns based on the research. Methods to be used and considered to prioritize should be:
*Issue Should be Winnable
The Steering Committee should avoid issues or concerns that do not have solutions. For example, although world peace may be a concern for residents, it would not be a winnable issue for the neighborhood.
*Issue Should Demonstrate Top Concern to Number of Residents
The Steering Committee should consider issues that are a concern to many residents, not pet projects for a few.
*Issue Should Attract Active Support Sufficient to Win Issue
The Steering Committee should consider the support needed to carry out an issue that they are selecting. For example: If an issue will require over 400 resident/members to complete, the Steering Committee should consider if the issue will attract that number of resident/members.
*Issue Should Help to Unify the Neighborhood
The Steering Committee should prioritize issues that will bring the neighborhood together, not pull it apart or pit one group against another.
*Issue Should Expand Active-Resident Participation
The Steering Committee should prioritize issues that allow active-resident/member participation to be a part of the solution. For example, it will be more beneficail for the neighborhood to have resident/members working to solve an issue rather than employing another organization or staff to resolve its issues.
*Resident involvement should be Key to the Success of the issue
The Steering Committee should consider resident/member participation in the issue. Residents would not benefit from the NRP process without some resident involvement. For example, resident's would not benefit form getting involved in the restoration of any building or company that will be restored without DMRA/resident involvement.
The Steering Committee will then write a draft NRP First Step plan, incorporating community feedback and suggestions from the community meetings and task forces.
The Steering Committee will then make the draft copy of the NRP First Step plan available to the community. Methods to be used will be: copies available on request, a major meeting to announce the draft copy and encourage reaction and feedback, notices in the Skyway news and other publications, phone calls to active residents and fliers. Residents will be encouraged to voice reactions at the meetings, in writing, and by phone.
It will be the Steering Committee's duty to update and revise the draft to match the suggestions of the residents. It will also be in the Steering Committee's responsibility to inform the individual residents who wrote or phoned of the changes made in the draft (or not make) as per their comments.
The Final First Step Plan will be announced and celebrated by
the community. It will be at this time a major meeting will be
held and voting will take place. At an open election meeting,
eligible voters will be able to vote in favor of the plan or againist
the plan. In the event that the majority of the vote is against
the plan, the DMRA Board and the Steering Committee will consider
line item vetoes to bring the majority to approval of the plan.
After the plan has been approved, the DMRA Board will
accept ultimate responsibility, to the City and the Community,
to monitor and, where appropriate, oversee the implementation
of plan activities. The Board may direct monitoring activities
to a Standing Committee.
The DMRA/NRP grievance procedure will be made available to all persons who live, own property or work in either the Downtown West, Downtown East, or the North Loop area. If anyone who lives, owns property or works in either the Downtown West, Downtown East, or the North Loop area feels that the Steering Committee has taken an action that they do not agree with, they will be welcome to use the grievance procedure detailed below.
A grievance must be formally submitted in writing. The person may write a letter explaining their grievance. Information included in the formal grievance must be: name, address, phone number, the concern they have with the NRP planning process, actions that caused the concern, and how would concern be resolved.
After a grievance has been put in writing the Steering Committee will send a letter of response to the petitioner within 30 days. Then the Steering Committee will meet with the DMRA Board to determine appropriate follow-up action. The Steering Committee will then meet to respond to the grievance; keep record and minutes of the meeting, and respond in a timely manner with solutions.
If the petitioner is still not satisfied with the actions of the DMRA Board and the Steering Committee, they may bring their grievance to the central NRP office for further review and assistance.
Personnel (13 month)
Coordinator (56 weeks @ 20 hrs/wk @ $12/hr). . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . $13,440
Fringe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,285
Training/Consulting/Bookkeeping . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,500
Office (13 months)
Rent (1/3 of base rent of $350/month x 13). . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . 1,517
Phone (1/3 of base of $125/month times 13) . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . 542
Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500
Insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800
Audit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,000
Communications
Major Printing/Distribution with postage. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .$5,316
($2/household x 2,658)
Survey Keypunching or evaluation. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . .532
($1/survey x 20% of households responding)
Regular Printing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,594
General Outreach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . 1,500
Meetings/Events
Childcare, transportation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . .$364
(4 meetings @ 2 hrs @ $8/hr 4 childcare provider)
(4 meetings @ 3 hrs @ $5 gas @ $5/hr for driver service for
29 buildings)
Contingency. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$1,000
TOTAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $32,890