| Council Member Cashman celebrating with Mayor Frey and City officials at the Northstar Center in Downtown Blue Line Light Rail Extension Municipal Consent: The City Council unanimously (13-0) approved Municipal Consent for the Blue Line Extension. Approving the preliminary design plans for the Blue Line extension route is one important step in a multi-year and multi-phased project. Although what we approved are design plans and comments on the design plans, I’ve appreciated the anti-displacement advocacy from various communities and the willingness of County Board and City Council leadership to ensure that anti-displacement is being prioritized every step of the way. I’m thankful to the County for the development and implementation of corridor-wide anti-displacement strategies; to City staff for their commitment to mitigating environmental and relocation impacts, and for carefully considering the route and requesting the addition of a stop at Washington and Broadway that people demanded be incorporated into the design. As I’ve learned and continue to learn, when we give the Project Office clear demands, leadership can make them happen. Since we’re only at 30% of the concept design (with track location being decided) we know it’s not too late to have input on safety, transit and mobility connections, or neighborhood impacts. So, I am thrilled to have supported municipal consent to keep our seat at the table. The LIMS (Legislative Information Management System) file on the Blue Line Light Rail Extension municipal consent includes a lot of background information on this item, including presentations and public comments shared with Council. - Matching Grant: Council approved a legislative directive requesting information and data on financial reporting, monitoring and performance measurement of, the 2024 Second Quarter Financial Report, 2024 Department Level Financial Reports, 2019-2023 Financial Reports, and the City's financial practices. This information will further clarify the balance of sources of funding allocated for a $1.5m matching grant to prevent the permanent closure of the Agate Housing & Services emergency shelter. Following Council approval, Agate announced that an anonymous donor had stepped up to provide the $1.5m match required to unlock the City funds. I know that Ward 7 constituents care deeply about securing and expanding emergency shelter resources for those experiencing homelessness. At our Ward 7 Budget workshop last week, over half of participants indicated that new spending for Affordable Housing & Homelessness was their #1 priority, and Agate’s situation called for us to step up and be a part of the solution.
- Electric Franchise Extension Ordinance: Council approved a 6-month extension to our current franchise agreement with Xcel Energy, moving its expiration from October 17, 2024 to April 17, 2025. Our utility franchise agreements allows us to collect fees and fund our climate and equity goals through the Climate Legacy Initiative and it enables us to have partnership dedicated to clean energy. Franchise agreements give utilities permission to construct, operate, and repair & maintain electric distribution system and transmission lines in our public spaces. As we highlighted in a July Council Committee meeting, there are public health & climate goals and safety priorities that are inseparable from our agreement. Those goals and priorities are under the utility’s control—these include power reliability for customers, access to solar, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The mutually agreed upon extension will allow the City and Xcel Energy to better connect the franchise agreement to the Clean Energy Partnership, and to have a more mutually agreed upon set of goals, especially around service reliability for all customers in the City.
- Street Light Outages and Copper Wire Theft: Over the last three years, street lighting copper wire theft has posed significant challenges for public safety and infrastructure in Minneapolis. This issue has led to frequent light outages and delays in repairs. This week, Council approved a legislative directive to formally request data and analysis from our Public Works staff that we believe are critical to understanding the scope of the problem and identifying solutions, as well as informing City officials and the constituency of Minneapolis.
- Grant Acceptance for the Community Violence Interrupter Program: On behalf of our Department of Neighborhood Safety, we accepted a $2.5M grant for the Minneapolis Community Violence Interrupter Program. Violence Interrupters are trusted community members who work to prevent gun violence and firearm-related deaths in neighborhoods experiencing higher rates of such incidents. Having them is a key proactive and preventative public safety measure as “traditional police methods often fail to prevent conflicts before they get worse, leading to ongoing cycles of violence and arrests,” according to our Department of Neighborhood Safety. They also offer support and resources to people at risk, particularly young people. By stepping in early, Violence Interrupters aim to create a safer and more peaceful environment, helping residents feel secure and thrive. We currently do not have enough Violence Interrupters in our community, especially in Ward 7 at intersections like 19th & Nicollet and 5th & Hennepin, where we have seen recent gun-related tragedies. I will be working to ensure these resources are deployed in our community where they are most needed, to keep all of us safe and free from violence.
- Ordinance Introductions & Referrals: Council Members introduced and referred to the appropriate committees one new ordinance amendment relating to boulevards.
- Honorary Resolutions: 6 honorary resolutions were brought forth celebrating Adopt a Shelter Animal Week, Code Enforcement Officers Appreciation Month, 2024 Breast Cancer Awareness, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, National Community Planning Month, and Nigerian Independence Day. I also want to note that Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, and I want to wish a Happy New Year to all those who are celebrating this week.
Climate & Infrastructure Committee: October 10, 2024 at 1:30pm - Special Service Districts (Legacy Districts): 2025 proposed services and service charges: Passage of Resolution approving the 2025 operating plans, special services, cost estimates, service charges, and the lists of 2025 service charges for the 48th & Chicago, Central Avenue, Dinkytown, Eat Street, Linden Hills, Lowry Hill, Stadium Village, and Uptown Special Service Districts (Non-428A Districts), and authorizing the Department of Public Works to proceed with the work.
- HERC and Zero Waste Resolution: Public Comment period on the City Council Resolution calling for closure of the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC) and prioritization of waste diversion strategies in the city and with our partners at the County and State.
Ward 7 Community Survey Series In each Ward 7 Newsletter, we include a question for constituents to weigh in on. Questions may be related to upcoming policy decisions, future planning, issue prioritization, community project ideas, and more. Today's question: Tell us about a Latino-owned business in Ward 7 of any type that you think should be celebrated, and we will include them in features on our social media channels throughout the week. An event flyer with a dark background and white text explaining details, location, and logos of event partners Attorney General’s Office Minneapolis Debt Fairness Clinic Following the passage of the Debt Fairness Act in the last legislative session, the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office is excited to invite community to their Debt Fairness Clinic on Saturday, October 5th, from 10 am to 5 pm at the NorthPoint Conference Center in Minneapolis. The clinic will feature Know Your Rights presentations on the new debt protections, one-on-one consultations with volunteer attorneys for personalized legal advice, and assistance with expunging criminal records. The expungement assistance builds on our office’s 2024 Clean Slate Expungement Tour. A flyer with photos of various Latino business owners in their spaces and QR code to the events page Latino Business Week, October 6-13 September 15 to October 15 is National Hispanic Heritage Month. The City is happy to host the first Latino Business Week in Minneapolis, Sunday, October 6 through Sunday, October 13. To build on the excitement of National Hispanic Heritage Month, plans are set for a week of community events, starting with great food, music, and vendors at Mercado Central (1515 E Lake St) on this Sunday from 2-6pm. An illustrated white and blue graphic of a streetscape with direction arrows showing storm drains emptying into a lake Consider Adopting-a-Drain in your neighborhood Did you know that all debris that goes down our storm drains ends up in our lakes and rivers? You can help by adopting storm drains! You can even name the drains. Just clean the debris off the drain when you can. It is especially important this fall to clean the leaves off the drains before snowfall to help prevent street flooding and green algae slime buildup on our lakes. East Isles neighbors have increased adoptions from 16% to over 64%, which marks the highest in Minneapolis and very possibly the nation with the help of a MWMO grant and generous local businesses that have donated over $1000 in gift cards. Lowry Hill East (The Wedge) neighbors have increased their storm drain adoptions from 15% to 40%. Adopters in East Isles and The Wedge are eligible for a prize drawing. If you adopted storm drains please let organizers know by entering their Name Your Drain contest. Some good neighbors have started a Green Guardians MN group that 9 neighborhoods around the Chain of Lakes are participating in. You can also help with their lake and park cleanups and storm drain adoptions, find them on HandsOn Twin Cities. There are plenty of opportunities to get outside, meet some neighbors, and help care for our community yet this year!  |
Council Members speaking in the Woman's Club Ballroom while seated participants listen from round tables Ward 7 Budget Workshop Recap We had some very rich conversations at last week’s Ward 7 City Budget Workshop. After a very informative presentation by City Budget staff, participants were provided with descriptions of 8 different City budget priority areas, including one for property tax relief. Participants were asked to make difficult trade-offs and select just ONE priority area as the most important to consider as the Council enters the budget mark-up phase in the coming weeks. Though participants attended from all over Ward 7, there were many points of agreement. More than half of participants prioritized Affordable Housing and Homelessness, which includes spending on programs like Stable Homes, Stable Schools, preserving our naturally occurring affordable housing, and working with other government entities and providers to modernize the shelter continuum. The conversations and data collected demonstrated the deep care and concern that residents have for our city and its future. Thank you to everyone who attended and to Council Vice President and Ward 10 Council Member Aisha Chughtai and Ward 11 Council Member Emily Koski for sharing insight as the Chair and Vice-Chair the Budget Committee. We also appreciate the Woman’s Club of Minneapolis for hosting us. Here are some resources to learn about the City’s budget process, what is included in the Mayor’s proposed 2025-2026 budget, how the proposed levy increase might impact your household, and ways you can provide public comment on the budget: - November 12 at 10:00 am – Budget Committee Meeting
- Public hearing on proposed budget
- Public Service Center, 250 S 4th St, Room 350
- December 10 at 6:05 pm – City Council Meeting
- Truth in Taxation hearing on amended budget and Council budget adoption
- Public Service Center, 250 S 4th St, Room 350
Help paying for private sewer line repairs Paying to repair your private sewer line that connects to the public sewer can be expensive. But if your line has cracks in it, tree roots growing into it, or gaps in the connections, it has to be fixed. This pipe carries your wastewater from your toilet, sink, shower, laundry, dishwasher, etc. to the public sanitary sewer in the street. The property owner is responsible for the line from the home to the public sewer. If you need help paying for a repair to your private sewer line, you might get help from a property tax assessment, an upcoming grant program or private insurance. Council Member Cashman standing with a microphone facing rows of seated Loring Park residents Out and About in Ward 7 The Ward 7 team continues to get out in community to talk to neighbors and stakeholders where they are. Here are a few highlights from the past couple of weeks. - Celebrated the passage of the City’s zoning code amendments to encourage more commercial to residential building conversion projects at the Northstar Center downtown.
- Hosted constituents at the Woman’s Club of Minneapolis in Loring Park for the Ward 7 City Budget Workshop
- Visited residents at Loring Green West to update them on work at City Hall and upcoming projects impacting Downtown and Loring Park
- Meetings across the ward with individual constituents and groups on a range of topics
An blue, green, and white graphic with event details and a photo of CM Cashman in a center circle Save the date for our next "Coffee with Katie" opportunity in Cedar-Isles-Dean! This is our monthly opportunity for stakeholders to talk with me and their neighbors about concerns and ideas for your community. Hope to see you on October 26th at 10am! Infrastructure Updates Theodore Wirth Parkway Closure: Theodore Wirth Parkway is scheduled to close between Glenwood Avenue and Wayzata Boulevard on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. The closure is permitted through Friday, Oct. 25. The closure is necessary for City of Minneapolis Public Works to perform several repairs to storm sewer infrastructure in the area. Access to Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary and the Quaking Bog Parking Lot will remain open, as well as trails through the area. Please follow detour signs and stay away from areas where work is being performed. The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board appreciates everyone's patience as our public infrastructure is repaired. To find out about what’s going on in your part of town, check out the nine neighborhood organizations working to keep folks connected and engaged in Ward 7: |
