New Board Members Elected for 2011-2013!

At last night's Annual Meeting, the attendees voted in a slate of candidates that included incumbents Phil Fuehrer, Stacey Van Patten, Sandy Rosbacka, Collins Dibaki, and Pastor Andy Berreth. In addition, newcomers Pauline Nixon and Gordon Westerberg became our newest board members. Both Pauline and Gordon live in the senior high-rise on Ruth and will add the perspective of those living in some of our large-scale rental communities. Welcome to them both, and we are happy to have all these board members serving the neighborhoods.

But we still have one vacant position on the board, so if you or someone you know is interested in serving until the next election, we can appoint to fill a vacancy.

Also last night, we heard the exciting work that our library, rec centers, faith communities and St. Paul Youth Services are doing for young people in our area. We have information from these folks in our office.

Finally, staff members from the Gateway Corridor Commission attended and talked to neighbors about the planning process for this transit corridor that will be coming in the next 10 years.

We had plenty of time for folks to talk with each other and with all these great organizations, to socialize and to celebrate.

We will be back to our regular community meetings in May (our board orientation is in late April...).

Thanks to everyone who worked on the event, who attended and presented, and who stood up to help guide our work!! And thanks to Conway Rec Center for hosting!

MnDOT wants Input on 50year plan

"Minnesotans will help determine the state's transportation system vision for the next 50 years" (let's remind Metro Transit/Met Council of this on April 5 for our discussion of the Lower Afton Park and Ride!!). They are rolling out the Minnesota Go project from now through August 2011 to get residents' input on roads, bridges and trails, on airports, public transit and ports, and on how to finance local roads.

Submit your comments at www.minnesotago.org and visit the website to be updated on the process. There will be public workshops in May of this year as well.

Submitted by MnDOT (with comments by D1 staff...)

Transportation Alert!

The Minnesota House will be holding public hearings to discuss a proposal to cut transportation funding in the state. This will affect the number and frequency of bus routes as well as fares.

If you are concerned about these issues, the hearings will be at 12:30p and 6;30p on Monday, March 21 in room 5 of the State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd, St. Paul.

Lower Afton Park and Ride

There are plans afoot to expand the park and ride lot at Lower Afton and Hiway 61 by 70 spaces. We would like to get neighbors together with Metro Transit to talk about this. Give us a call (651.578.7600) if you are interested and tell us about your evening availability around the first two weeks of April.

Here's why this is significant...

1. The plans would eliminate all the trees between the current lot and the lift station. This will essentially denude the area of everything but brush.
2. Although there is a definite problem with lack of parking spaces for the number of commuters, we have been discussing moving the lot north of Lower Afton as a part of the Red Rock Corridor planning.
3. This is in the river corridor, is right in front of people's houses, and the area has just finished being torn up for construction of the new lift station (which resulted in the removal of a number of trees).

Finally, the city has apologized for not notifying us earlier, but we are trying to negotiate a delay in city consideration of Metro Transit's request -- we have a limited amount of time to inform people and get their responses.

The state, the county and the Met Council are having a hard time understanding how community processes are supposed to work. This is our neighborhood and we need to have an opportunity to give input on what happens here...

Call us...

Conway Totlot Planning

The new planning for the totlot at Conway Park is underway. Residents and officials from Parks have started thinking about where, what and how improvements will go into the space between the rec center and the library.

For updates, check out this link.

Thinking College Early Fair

Saturday March 12 from 9a to 12:30p there will be a Fair at Harding High School to encourage young people to think about college and how to get there. Admissions, scholarships and financial aid, representatives from state, community and private colleges, including historically black colleges and universities - it's all there!

There will be free lunch, door prizes, and child care available.

This is a collaboration between Saint Paul Public Schools and our very own Progressive Baptist Church. There is a strong connection here between District 1 and this event, too, because our board member, JoAnn Clark is the driving force behind this event.

Here is a link to a story about JoAnn and Progressive Baptist's efforts to get kids to think about college.

7th Annual Community Garden Spring Resource Fair

Think Spring and join fellow gardeners at the Community Garden Resource Fair. Learn about efforts throughout the metro to bring healthy, affordable food to neighborhoods.

The fair will be held at - Sabathani Community Center, 310 E. 38th St. in Minneapolis (near the Mpls buslines 23, 18 and 11)
The date is April 2 and the time is 9a - 4p

For more information and complete schedule go to Gardening Matters.

Think about a Local "Get Away"

The "KnotaReel Getaway Cruise" is back by popular demand at the Mounds Theater, 1029 Hudson Rd. This is a 2 hour "excursion" that includes a buffet meal and a theater experience. The theater experience is the Mounds Theater's version of swimming pool, casino, tennis courts, putting green, on-deck fishing and shuffleboard - admit it, you are curious now, right??

The cost is $49.50 for adults, seniors/students and groups of 8 or more ate $39.60 and children under 12 are $29.70. Shows are Fridays and Saturdays at 7p and on Sundays at 2p. Doors open a half hour in advance of showtime.

For reservations call 651.772.8674.

Submitted by Mounds Theater

Compost Bins and Rain Barrels for Sale

Ramsey County has two upcoming sales opportunities for compost bins and rain barrels at reduced prices. By composting organic waste (vegetable scraps and yard waste) and capturing rainwater from the roof, you can reduce the need for expensive fertilizers, reduce your water and trash bills, help keep waterways clean and reduce waste (that's how you save on trash bills!). The Recycling Association of Minnesota will have its sale in Saint Paul on April 30 and May 1 (pre-registration is required). The City of Roseville, in cooperation with several other cities in Ramsey County, willhave its sale on May 7. For more information go to Recycle Minnesota or City of Roseville.

Submitted by Ramsey County

Emerald Ash Borer Mitigation in Our Neighborhood

On Tuesday, March 1, the St. Paul Department of Parks folks were out to talk about upcoming Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) work in the Eastview neighborhood (and north into District 2).

Work is set to begin on March 7 with trees being removed on the boulevards of 5th Street between Kennard and Flandrau and on White Bear between 3rd and 6th. Unlike last year, they will not be removing all ash trees in this area, but only declining trees that have been identified as having potential problems with dropping branches, poor canopy and so on. These trees have NOT been identified as being infested with EAB -- the infestation in the city is still apparently confined to Saint Anthony Park and the western parts of the Midway area. The removal of trees in our area is designed to help with systematic replacement of trees that will eventually fall victim to this invasive pest.

The City's plan for dealing with EAB will spread the cost out over many years and will help to diversify the types and ages of trees in the city. Unlike in previous years, a variety of replacement trees will be planted on each block to help prevent the kind of species devastation that some of us have seen with the loss of the elms, and (in some places) oaks.

If trees are removed from your boulevard (city right-of-way), the stumps will be ground out after the snow melts and new trees will be planted in May through June. Properties where replacement trees are located will receive instructions on how to help the trees thrive.

If you have questions about EAB on public or private property, you can check out the info on the city's website, or call Rachel Coyle in the Forestry Division 651.632.2431.

D1 Board Approves Site Plan

At the February 28th Board Meeting, the District 1 Council Board heard from Mark Smith, owner of MaxIt Pawn, and from about 45 residents about Mr. Smith's proposal for 1891 Suburban Avenue. The proposal involves redevelopment of the Suburban Used Car Lot with a MaxIt Pawn shop as an anchor, along with new buildings for a Cowboy Slim's Restaurant, Chipotle Restaurant, Dairy Queen and a Starbucks. In addition, the proposal has more tentative agreements from a pet store, car repair shop and hair salon. The original proposal included a Dollar Store facing Suburban in the southeast corner of the lot. After discussion with residents, Mr. Smith pulled that potential tenant from his proposal.

Throughout the evening, the dominant sentiment was that residents did not want the pawn shop, were concerned about the image a pawn shop and dollar store presented of this community, and asked questions about how the site would be managed and the pawn shop would operate. Mr. Smith answered all questions and encouraged residents to visit any of his other stores. However, when Mr. Smith stated that the numbers of new jobs estimated for all the different shops was between 175 and 225, people's attitudes started to shift. Once he said he heard the community's concerns about another dollar store and would stop pursuing that entity as a tenant, community members said they could get behind the site plan he was proposing.

Finally, a vote of community members was taken and 28 supported the proposal and only 4 were against it (there were some abstentions). In addition to these comments, our office took comments from 12 other people, 9 of whom were against the proposal. So the final community tally was 31 for the proposal and 13 against it.

When the Board took its voice vote, it was unanimous in support of the proposed site plan. There were 11 of 13 current board members present, and one of the absent members left his proxy vote in support, given one condition.

Is this the end of the process?? Not by a long shot. Here's what happens next... The District Council will submit ALL information, both pro and con, it received to the City as the City takes up consideration of the site plan and its accompanying conditional use permits. In addition to the community comments we submit a letter with our recommendation and we will include our understanding of all the proposal entails. Our objective is to make sure that the City understands where the community stands on this proposal. Our recommendation is only given as advice to the Zoning Committee of the Planning Commission.

But we also encourage any and all community members to submit their own letters (or emails) to City staff - whether for or against the proposal. The site plan Mr. Smith submitted will be reviewed on March 8 for a variety of issues, and then the Zoning Committee will get the site plan and conditional use permit requests in late March. It is best if you submit your comments directly to the city staff person, Penny Simison at penelope.simison@ci.stpaul.mn.us or 651.266.6554. You can also send mail to her at 25 W. 4th St., City Hall Annex 1100, St. paul, MN 55102.