Red Rock Corridor Seeks Input

Public feedback is requested on the recommendation of the preferred route ( #2 ) for Red Rock Corridor. Provide your feedback in person at the January 13 Open House at St. Paul Park City Hall, 5-7pm, or contact Lyssa Leitner atredrockcorridor@gmail.com or 651-430-4314. More info can be found here on the routes:http://www.redrockcorridor.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Red-Rock-Handout_12-3-15.pdf

The preferred route would connect to the Gateway Corridor Line along I-94 at the Etna station.

This transit project would provide day-long service by bus rapid transit between Union Depot and Hastings, with a stop in District 1 at Lower Afton and Highway 61.

Hazardous Waste Site Winter Hours

String lights that don’t work? Containers with used oil and filters? Leftover paints and stains? Bring these and other unwanted chemicals to our FREE household hazardous waste collection at 5 Empire Dr., St. Paul. Winter hours are Fridays 11a to 6p and Saturdays 9a to 4p.

Learn to Ski - Scholarships Available!!

The Como Park Snowsports Booster Club is pleased to offer youth scholarships for snowboard and ski lessons this winter at Como Park. Application deadline is December 21, 2015.

 The City of St. Paul Parks and Recreation Department offers cross country ski lessons, downhill snowboard and ski lessons every winter at Como Park. Ski and snowboard equipment is available for rent at the snowsport center. The center is seasonally headquartered in the golf clubhouse located, across the street from Como Lake, at 1431 Lexington Pkwy N, St Paul, MN 55102. Just a short walk from the building are 15 acres groomed for cross country skiing and 150 vertical feet for downhill sports on Mount Como. Cozy’s Pub at Como Park in the center serves up burgers and salads, hot and cold drinks.

The Como Park Snowsports Booster Club supports the community ski area operated by the City of St. Paul Parks and Recreation Department. Our mission is to passionately support snow sports for the diverse youth and families of our urban community in an accessible, safe and fun learning environment while promoting a healthy, active lifestyle.

We provide youth scholarships for lessons in three snow sports: snowboarding, cross country skiing and downhill skiing.  

To qualify for a scholarship a youth participant must fill out an application and be a St. Paul resident who qualifies for free or reduced-price school lunches.

Application deadline is December 21, 2015.

Scholarships may be used for the following events: One day clinics available December 28 and 29 —or—A session of five weekly lessons beginning the first week in January (one-hour lesson times are available Wednesday and Thursday evenings and Saturdays).

For more information, visit St. Paul Parks and Rec Snowboard and Ski lessons.

Como Park Booster Club Scholarship forms are available on the info page for Downhill Skiing and Snowboarding. Forms are also available from the Como Park Snowsports Booster Club website skimtcomo.com 

Visit the Como Park Snowsport Booster Club website at skimtcomo.com. Look for "Ski Mt Como" on Facebook and Twitter

Snow and Sidewalks! - Clear them in 24 hrs after snowfall

Our first major snowfall of the season is upon us, with some estimates predicting 4-7” by Wednesday.

While traffic reports about travel being slow on the freeways are dominating the airwaves, it is important to remember that everyone is a pedestrian at some point in their travels. To make those trips possible, snow has to be cleared from the city’s sidewalks.

Chapter 113 and 114 of the St. Paul Legislative Code requires that all property owners in the city clear the sidewalk of snow and ice within 24-hours of snowfall. This is important for safety, economic prosperity and to ensure everyone in St. Paul can get around.

“Clearing snow from sidewalks is important not only for safety, but for access to transit, goods and services,” said Jessica Treat, Executive Director of St. Paul Smart Trips, “This is especially true for the disabled community, who may not be able to navigate snow packed sidewalks.”

Learn more

St. Paul Smart Trips offers a downloadable door hanger for reminding neighbors to clear their sidewalks athttp://www.smart-trips.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/door_hanger_for_web.pdf.

Additional snow shoveling resources are available through St. Paul Smart Trips at http://www.smart-trips.org/snow-flying-keep-sidewalks-clear/.

The City of St. Paul provides additional information at http://www.stpaul.gov/index.aspx?nid=918.

Summary of November 23 Board Meeting

Call to Order: 6:32 pm by Council President Paul Sawyer.  Quorum present.  P. Sawyer notes that we will move presentations to the top of the agenda.

Presentation/Discussion – Conway Park Planning (Sanneh Foundation) – Tony Sanneh provides a presentation on their current activities. They are having good success and would like to grow.  Parking is an issue for the site. Additionally, field space is a problem due to grass being worn down.  Putting in artificial turf has been mentioned as an option which they are looking into.  Finally, the gym is often packed due to soccer, basketball and volleyball. They have bids that would require raising from $3.5 to $8 million, depending on what is done.  The higher estimate includes adding a dome. He also discusses other repurposed uses as well as generally upgrading the building. He concludes by noting that they feel like they are part of the community, that they are improving the community and are looking to improve the facilities and their use. The domed area would be close to the building and one diagram places it as an anchor at the SE corner of the property between the library and the rec center. Questions regarding proposals and ideas:  The Sanneh Foundation is reaching out to the Somali community, they are desirous of being participants in the parks system and work to stay within or under their fee structure with much of the other programming being free or low cost (with plenty of waived fees), the Sanneh Foundation has a site management agreement with 2 meetings per year with the Parks Department to address concerns and monitor adherence to their programming proposal.   B. Leach adds that the operating hours are greater than they had been and, anecdotally, the participation of children in the programming has increased. She has also not heard any complaints about the youth activities at the Center. She also provides an overview of the process that was used to work with Parks and Rec to develop an RFP submission and selection process. 

A community member inquires about the soccer field at Highwood Hills and monies that have been dedicated to improving it and if those improvements can be finished.  S. Ali explains the negative affect that transportation plays in getting the Somali youth population at Highwood Hills to Conway to participate in activities.  He notes that he hopes the soccer field updates will be completed this upcoming summer.  T. Sanneh discusses their engagement activities this past summer and their efforts to work on transportation.   They have also reached out to social workers to increase trust with the Somali community.  E. Thompson from Parks notes that he will try to get the D1 board an update but he does know that the water lines were installed and some of the top soil was moved to the archery range on DNR property.  He also notes that the transportation issue is on the radar of the Met Council and is being looked at for correction.

S. Johnson recommends a letter to city and state officials with the board’s request to get the Highwood soccer field finished.  J. Prince notes that she is very supportive of upgrading the field. B. Watkins inquires if the school district is a barrier to overcome. S. Ali notes that the field belongs to the city.

Financial Reports – Motion by T. Mohr. Second by M. Barrett to approve the annual Charitable Organization report for the Attorney General. Passed on voice vote.

Budget - We had a general discussion of the budget and its current uncertainties, but Sawyer notes we need an approval of a budget to enter the new year, noting we will vote on an amended budget at the January meeting. Motion by T. Mohr. Seconded by J. Clark to approve the draft 2016 budget as presented. Passed on voice Vote.

Workplan – Motion by M. Barrett. Second by T. Mohr to approve the workplan. Passed on voice vote.

Appointment of Board Members - Myra Smiley announces her interest in filling a board vacancy and discusses herself and motivation for involvement.  Bonnie Watkins announces her interest in filling a board seat and discusses her motivation.  Zander Danielson Sellie discusses his interest in filling a board seat and motivation.  Motion by M. Barrett. Second J. Clark to appoint Myra Smiley, Bonnie Watkins and Zander Danielson Sellie to fill board vacancies. Passed on voice vote. Subsequent appointment via email of Abdi Nour Barkat to fill final board vacancy.

Honor Roll Nominations – Motion by P. Fuehrer to nominate Clara Ware, Andrew Parker and Tom Mohr as our Honor Roll Awardees this year.  Seconded by M. Barrett.  Passes on voice vote.

Dialogues and other Staff Updates – B. Leach notes that the dialogues have completed and provides updates on recent activities as well as a January 23^rd Action Forum that is being planned for next steps.

P. Sawyer provides additional updates – the D1 Community Plan has been submitted to the city and staff comments have been received. The Gateway Corridor Draft Environmental Impact Statement is being finalized and the Station Area Plans have been adopted by the city.  Two Land Use proposals for Old Hudson have been received. 

B. Leach reminds everyone that I-94 will be worked on for two years between Century and West 7^th beginning next year. R. Limbag asks about getting “Nice Ride” biking to the area.  B. Leach notes that Nice Ride has said we do not have the biking density but there has been an “Orange Bike” program that took place in the Afton View area.

P. Sawyer thanks everyone for attending and adjourns the meeting at 8:13 pm.

MN Pass Lanes on 35E open Nov 30

Two new MnPASS Express Lanes on Interstate 35E in St. Paul will open for the first time on Nov. 30. To celebrate the arrival, current and new MnPASS account holders with a transponder or a new MnPASS Express Lane tag can drive in the MnPASS lanes on I-35E between Cayuga Street and Little Canada Road during peak-travel times for free between Nov. 30 and Jan. 3, 2016.

The MnPASS lanes on I-35E will operate like the MnPASS lanes on I-394 and I-35W.  During peak-drive times, vehicles with two or more passengers (HOV 2+), buses and motorcyclists can drive in the lanes for free, while solo motorists with a MnPASS account and MnPASS tag attached to their windshield can drive in the lanes for a fee. The fees for solo motorists using the MnPASS lanes during peak-drive times range from $.25 to $8. The MnPASS lanes are open and free to all motorists outside of the posted peak-drive times.

In addition to the two new lanes on I-35E, the MnPASS program is also introducing two new “tag” options for MnPASS customers and is dropping the monthly transponder/tag lease fees for all customers.

The tag options include a free sticker tag and a switchable tag that has a one-time $15 purchase fee. Both tags attach to the inside of the vehicle windshield. The switchable tag can be “switched” to the HOV 2+ (free) mode when two or more people are in the vehicle or to the MnPASS (fee) mode when the motorist is the only person in the vehicle. The sticker tag is free, is always in the fee mode and is deactivated once it is removed from the windshield. Both tags are compatible with all MnPASS Express Lanes in Minnesota and will replace the current transponders. Existing transponders and the new tags can be used I-35E, I-394 and I-3W.

There are also four MnPASS distribution centers in the Twin Cities:

·         MnDOT Metro Water’s Edge Building

1500 W County Road B2, Roseville, MN

·         Metro Transit Service Center

Skyway, US Bank Center

101 E. 5^th Street, St. Paul, MN

Currently, MnDOT is experiencing technical difficulties at the satellite distribution centers so new customers are unable to enroll in the program at the satellite locations until further notice.

Enrolling in the MnPASS program is fast and easy. New customers can enroll online any time at www.mnpass.org or stop by the MnPASS Customer Service Center at 2055 Lilac Drive N. Golden Valley, MN 55422.

MnPASS is a state transportation system that provides a congestion-free travel option during peak-drive times on highways with high levels of congestion. MnPASS Express Lanes give all commuters a reliable travel choice that saves them time, increases a highway’s capacity to move more people through a corridor and allows faster, more reliable public bus service

DAYTIME southbound I-35E closures NOV 24 in Saint Paul

MnDOT will be completing pavement striping on portions of the new southbound lanes of I-35E in St. Paul. With very cold temperatures occurring at night, they’ll need to do the work during the day in warmer temperatures to ensure that the striping adheres to the pavement properly.

They’ve scheduled this work for TUESDAY, Nov. 24. Weather forecasts currently show Nov. 25 as having favorable weather conditions for the work.Southbound I-35E will be reduced to a single lane between Maryland Avenue and I-94 from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. Nov. 25. You should expect significant delays during the lane closures; they recommend that you leave early for your destination if using southbound I-35E during this time, or use an alternate route. Please note that if poor weather conditions occur, the work may be rescheduled and updates will be sent out. Thank you in advance for your patience as MnDOT works to complete the striping before winter.

Ramsey County Recycling Wants your Feedback!

Ramsey County is getting ready to put together its Going Green Guide for next year.
They would like people to fill out a short survey to help them as they prepare it - to assure that it is as useful as possible.

Please take a few minutes to fill out this survey.

And Thanks! in advance

Minnesota Statewide Bicycle System Plan Seeking Public Comment through November 16, 2015

The Minnesota Department of Transportation is seeking public comment on the statewide bicycle system plan.

A draft of the plan is online for review atwww.mndot.gov/bike. Interested persons may email comments on the plan to bikeplan.DOT@state.mn.us. Comments may be submitted through Nov. 16.

The plan represents the agency’s vision and goal for bicycle transportation, implementation strategies and performance measures to evaluate progress toward achieving its vision.

MnDOT developed the plan through consultation with the public, agency staff and partners at state, regional and local planning agencies.

Help Shape the Future of Ramsey County's Ice Arenas

Ramsey County Parks & Recreation and the county’s Arena Task Force will host seven public meetings throughout November to gather input on current arena usage and provide the community a chance to learn about the work of the task force.

Ramsey County currently manages 13 sheets of ice at 11 arenas, making it one of the largest arena systems in Minnesota. Earlier this year, the board of commissioners appointed an Arena Task Force to lead a study of the county’s ice arenas and make recommendations for a long-term strategy for the system.

• Learn more about the mission and scope of the Arena Task Force.
• Learn more about the Ramsey County arena system.

Meeting schedule:

Saturday, Nov. 7
10 a.m.
Battle Creek Recreation Center75 Winthrop St. S.Saint Paul, MN 55119Arena focus: Harding, Phalen 

Thursday, Nov. 12
6 p.m.
Goodrich Golf Course1820 Van Dyke StreetMaplewood, MN 55109Arena focus: Aldrich, White Bear 

Thursday, Nov. 19
5:30 p.m.
Ramsey County Parks & Recreation2015 Van Dyke St.Maplewood, MN 55109Arena focus: All 

Community members who are unable to attend but are interested in learning more or providing input should contact Sara Ackmann, director of arena and golf operations, at 651-748-2500 orsara.ackmann@co.ramsey.mn.us​.

Wish-cycling - Ever Hear of It??

It’s when you put something in your cart that’s not recyclable, like a plastic bag, and hope it will get recycled.  But doing that does more harm than good.  These materials can get stuck in or damage sorting equipment, and they can lower the value of other recyclables collected. This summer a waste sort was completed to look at the recyclables collected in Vadnais Heights.  There were some interesting things found!

Lots of plastic bags, garden hoses, Styrofoam with motor oil on it, small appliances, a suitcase, metal and plastic hangers, PVC pipe for a sink, carpet, diapers, disposable gloves, a razor, dryer lint sheets, wrapping paper, Mineral spirits (HHW), a biohazard bag, black plastic, paper plates, planting pots, food covered trays, newspapers and magazines in plastic bags, eyeglasses, paper plates, tissue paper and tissue and paper towels. Furnace filters, a ceramic cup, power cord, crock pot, a sandal, door handle, disc player, and CD’s…  all garbage!!!! (some could go to the organics compost site, some to hazardous household waste site...)

Do you know people and machines try to sort your recyclables but it is hard for them when things come to the recycling facility that can’t be recycled?  So stick to the recyclables listed below:

Food containers (metal, plastic and glass): cans, bottles, jars, tubs and clam shells

Food Boxes from pantry, cupboard and refrigerator (not freezer), and pizza delivery boxes (no grease)

Food Cartons: milk, juice and soup cartons, etc.

Paper: mail, cards, newspapers, magazines, catalogs, phonebooks, packaging, school papers, office papers, shredded paper (in closed paper bag, labeled), and toilet and paper towel tubes

Boxes: cardboard boxes, shoe boxes, packaging, and tissue boxes

Other Containers: soap, detergent, shampoo bottles etc.

Bring plastic shopping bags to a recycling drop-off site.  For a list of participating retailers near you, go to PlasticFilmRecycling.org.

Bring non-recyclable paper (food-stained boxes, freezer boxes, tissues, paper towels, etc.) and food scraps, to an organics recycling drop-off site.  Find locations and hours at RamseyRecycles.com (click on Organic Waste).

If you have recycling questions, call 651-633-EASY (3279) answered 24/7 or go to RamseyRecycles.com (click on A to Z Recycling and Disposal Guide, top right to search for an item).

And don’t bag your recyclables, place loose in your container.  No one rips open your bag because it is too dangerous. If you bag your recycling it goes in the trash when it gets to the recycling facility.

Thanks for helping make sure your recyclables, get recycled!

Community Discussion about Civilian Review Board coming to the East Side.

This work compliments and expands the work that we did with community conversations with police. We came to some of the same recommendations. We encourage people to attend one of these opportunities...

Mayor Chris Coleman and City Attorney Sammy Clark announced plans for gathering public input on the recent independent audit of the Police Civilian Internal Affairs Review Commission (PCIARC), executed by the University of Minnesota’s Center for Restorative Justice and Peacemaking. The audit was released last week, and the Mayor has asked City Attorney Clark to meet with the community, gather feedback and provide a recommendation to the mayor for a path forward by the end of the first quarter of 2016.

“This is important work and I’m committed to bringing diverse voices to the table to explore the audit’s recommendations,” said Clark. “I look forward to meeting with community members throughout the remainder of this year and getting their input, before making my final recommendation to the Mayor.”

Thanks to a $20,000 grant from the Saint Paul Foundation, City Attorney Sammy Clark will be working with the University of Minnesota’s Center for Restorative Justice and Peacemaking to facilitate the community conversations, which will occur in each of the city’s police districts. After a community meal, the Center’s facilitators will guide residents through constructive dialogue, relying on a small group format.

The meetings are open to the public and all those interested are encouraged to attend. The community conversations schedule is as follows:

• Thursday, November 12, 2015, 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. (Mayor Coleman to attend)

o    Pilgrim Baptist Church, 732 Central Ave West, Saint Paul, MN

o    Community meal from 6:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., community conversation from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

• Thursday, December 3, 2015, 6:30 – 9:00 p.m.

o    El Rio Vista Recreation Center, 179 Robie Street East, Saint Paul, MN

o    Community meal from 6:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., community conversation from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

• Thursday, December 17, 2015, 6:30 – 9:00 p.m.

o    Arlington Hills Community Center, 1200 Payne Ave, Saint Paul, MN

o    Community meal from 6:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., community conversation from 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

To view the Audit Report and the Executive Summary, people can visit www.stpaul.gov/PCIARCAudit.

Saint Paul Youth Say "YOUR VOTE IS YOUR VOICE!"

We have been working on a project to use the arts to increase voting rates in St. Paul.  Attached is a hip hop music video that our youths "The Voices" did.  It will be showing on SPNN between now and Election Day.

This project was funded by Univ of MN CURA, coordinated by Chia Lor, District 1 organizer, and assisted by Clara Ware, youth organizer. 

Congratulations to Aisha, Andrew, Delena, Hafsa, Kashyra, Nyalat, Soto and Victor - the fantastic VOICES!

YOUR VOTE IS YOUR VOICE! Vote on November 3 (and EVERY election...)

 Your Vote is Your Voice2.wmv

​

School Board Candidate Forum

Summit Hill Association, District 1 Community Council, and West Side Community Organization present Saint Paul School Board Candidate Forum

Tuesday, October 13, 7pm

The Voices in action at InterNational Night Out

Humboldt Secondary

30 East Baker St.

Open floor with candidates will begin 6:30pm

All candidates have been invited to attend.

This forum will be in non-traditional, World Cafe style dialogues in which candidates circulate in pairs to five discussion areas (focused on issues) and respond to community submitted questions. 

This event will feature refreshments and performance by The Voices, a youth group formed by District 1 Community Council's voter education project.

Deer Hunts coming to District 1 in October and November

Ramsey County Parks and Recreation, in partnership with the Metro Bowhunters Resource Base, will again conduct controlled archery deer hunts this fall throughout the Ramsey County parks system.

Daylong hunts will be conducted at 10 park and trail locations on select dates in October and November. Most hunts are held Friday through Sunday, with select hunts held Monday through Wednesday to help minimize the impact on weekend park and trail users.

Many of the locations are the same as those used in previous years. Tamarack Nature Center, located within Bald Eagle-Otter Lakes Regional Park, has been added back to the list of locations after no hunt was held at the center in 2014. In turn, no hunt will be conducted this year in the Bald Eagle section of the park.

Hunt locations in District 1 and surrounding areas with dates are:

• Battle Creek Regional Park (St. Paul/Maplewood)                                             Oct. 12-14 and Nov. 9-11
• Fish Creek Open Space (Maplewood/St. Paul)Oct. 16-18 and Nov. 13-15
• Pig’s Eye (Battle Creek Regional Park, St. Paul)                                                   Oct. 16-18 and Nov. 13-15
• Tamarack Nature Center (White Bear Township)                                               Oct. 19-21 and Nov. 16-18    

During the hunts, entire parks or portions of a park may be closed. The Battle Creek and Otter Lake off-leash dog areas will be closed during hunts; the Rice Creek North off-leash area is expected to remain open. Efforts will be made to keep most major paved hiking and biking trails open. Signs will be posted at common entry points to parks where hunts are being conducted, and park visitors are requested to stay out of these areas.

All archers have already been selected for 2015.

Visit our website for additional information.

Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.

Donate Your USED BICYCLES for a Worthy Cause!

What:  Cycles for Change Bike Drive

When:  Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015,  6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

                AND Wednesday Sept 30, 2015, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Where:  Conway Community Recreation Center;  2090 Conway St;  St Paul, MN 55119

About the Cycles for Change Bike Drive  

·         Get that dusty old bike out of your basement/garage/storage and into the hands of someone who will use it! 

·         Help support a local nonprofit, Cycles for Change.   Learn more online at www.cyclesforchange.org.

·         Decent condition bicycles are refurbished and put on the road again, while older bikes are also accepted, stripped of usable parts, separated into recyclable materials and recycled.

·         Donations are tax-deductible.

Dialogue to Action Steering Committee Minutes 9/8/15

In attendance: Chia, Betsy, Christine, Nicole, Leslie, Jens (phone)

Budget update – Stipends will be given after the dialogue to recipients but there is paperwork that needs to be completed; Transportation is covered for those needing assistance through free bus passes donated by Metro Transit through Saint Paul SmartTrips; Betsy will go through the original budget and send out an update on how the stipends will be distributed – total amounts will depend on numbers of facilitators and participants needing assistance.

PED work – Curriculum has been drafted and is being finalized, and the date is October 14. The work has been divvied up among the planning committee for who would do what and there will be meetings between now and the date of the workshop. There will be four 40 minute sessions.  24 PED staff have committed to attend. District councils can have up to 5 reps per council in attendance. There will be an intro, definitions, struggles and challenges and priorities, with actions about how to make things more equitable.  The different levels of racism and equity will be addressed as well as how to do equitable community engagement. The planning group will meet one more time with final draft of the curriculum due on October 1 with run through that day at Arlington Hills. The work will look at how disparities impact livability – we want to be setting high level goals for both community and the department.

Leslie will prepare a three paragraph draft of a press release – include a quote from Mayor’s Office? Quote from Najat?

Updates – Chia and Betsy met with Mayors Office. We will meet with Gwen P and Kathy K directly again to talk about how we will work with them on the Parks dialogues (NOTE: this meeting took place on September 9 and was a positive meeting).  As curriculum is developed, we note that the Met Council has a report on Parks and equity. We are finalizing the parks curriculum.

Facilitators training – 8 people attended and we used the training tools from Everyday Democracy with some rearranged materials. Youth fully participated. We wanted to assure that people were not confused about their roles and the materials, they supported each other and left very positive about the experience. They were to meet with their co-facilitator prior to the actual dialogues.

Outreach plan – We have been sending flyers out and participant forms. Betsy will resend the updated form. We suggest it be announced on the WEQY 104.7. An announcement was sent to ES Review, Jane McClure, reached out agencies, reached out to CAT members and former dialogue participants; Jazz festival in Rondo, Family Values giveaway. Steering committee members will recruit. We need to have SIGNAGE at the site.

Thursday send Steering committee numbers we have for next Monday (NOTE: we only had 2 RSVPs by Thursday…)

October 12 at 10a… next steering committee

OLD HUDSON due for a facelift!!

Coming soon... the city will be doing a mill and overlay of Old Hudson Road between Ruth and McKnight. A mill and overlay is when they grind down the pavement and then put a new upper surface on it - really a shorter term fix. It doesn't involve digging up all the pavement and totally rebuilding the road.

For more information, check out this site.

Dialogue to Action discussions begin - JOIN US!!

On Monday, September 14 District 1 and its sister councils from across the city started off its series of racial equity dialogues on the city's West Side. The first set of dialogues is among Saint Paul Police and youth and their families. About 25 people attended and began the story-telling and trust-building that will form the foundation of our working together to make a more equitable city.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR MORE YOUTH AND FAMILIES TO PARTICIPATE!! Please contact Chia Lor at our office - district1chia@gmail.com or at 651-578-7400 - for more information. We will be meeting every Monday until October 12 (from 6-8p). We have free bus passes for those needing to get to the west side via transit.

These dialogues are facilitated by trained community members, including youth, and were developed jointly over 6 1/2 months by over 40 community members and police representatives. The objective is to find ways that we can work together to deal with the mistrust among communities of color and the police. Please join us!

Starting October 19, there will be a similar set of dialogues between community members and the Saint Paul Parks and Recreation Department. Those dialogues will run every Monday from October 19 until November 16, again from 6-8p, but this time at the Arlington Hills Community Center at Payne and Maryland.

You can view a bit of video from our first dialogue here, courtesy of Channel 5 News.

Pick up a free organics recycling starter kit!!

Ramsey Recycles is offering free organics recycling starter kits that include a 3-gallon bin with a locking cover, compostable bags, information on recycling and the organics recycling punch card. Bring the card in for five punches (one each time you drop off organics) and you’ll get a free Ramsey Recycles t-shirt. Starter kits are available at all of the Ramsey County yard waste sites. Just tell the yard waste site attendant that you want to get started recycling organic waste! 

Learn more about our organics recycling drop-off.

Annual Fall Festival at St Pascals

Saint Pascal Baylon's annual fall festival is Sunday, September 27 from noon to 5p. Join the family

fun with children's games, a spaghetti dinner, tacos, beer and wine, bingo, raffles, a boutique and football! This is taking place at the church at 3rd Street and White Bear Avenue. For more information call 651-774-1585.

Community Gathering - Meet your Neighbors!! 9/19

East African Community Link and the Lower Afton/South East Ramsey County community are holding a neighborhood gathering on Saturday, September 19 from 4-9p at Highwood Hills Elementary School, 2188 Londin Lane, St. Paul, 55119.

This is the second annual "Meet your neighbors Gathering" and their will be free food, fun activities, and artifacts from Africa and Sweden.

Food and space is donated by Saint Paul Public Schools and neighborhood businesses.

Notes from Steering Committee of the Dialogue to Action project

In attendance – Lisa (D2), Christine (D3), Leslie (D5), Chia, Betsy (D1)

The agenda for this meeting was approved and there was a review of notes from June and July by those members who had been absent, with time for any questions or clarifications about the notes.

Status of the work: Chia had spent some time looking for Parks curriculum because Everyday Democracy is no longer advising us closely as they have been. She found a set that had been based on Everday Democracy’s work on the website for the Parks and Recreation National Association. Steering committee members present in July worked on localizing it to our area. In addition, 4 Community Action Team members came together to work on a different curriculum that de-emphasized using a racial equity lens. The Steering Committee decided to take the second curriculum and use it as comments to tweak the original curriculum to assure that these dialogues continue to focus on how our racial and social positioning effects how we interact with city services. The purpose of these dialogues is to create a safe forum for open and honest conversations about racial equity in our city.

We reviewed the August timeline – It is time for Steering Committee members to send their second invoice to the D1 office. We are getting ready to train facilitators on Saturday August 29. We need to assure that we have at least 3 facilitators per group if the groups are going to be large (i.e. 25 or so). CHIA will create a flyer to recruit for both dialogues that can be distributed to potential recruiting partners. Both sets of community dialogues will be done before Thanksgiving. Locations are now set (Police/Youth at Wellstone Center, and Parks at Arlington Hills). We will look at fall events prior to the Parks dialogues starting on October 19 to see if there will be continuing opportunities to recruit. Our police partners are recruiting both police members and reaching out to local faith organizations for potential participants. We need a concentrated push to recruit.

Review of the budget: To date, most of our expenses have been in staff time. Most additional funds are set to be expended when the actual dialogues are taking place. We had a lengthy discussion on how to award stipends for facilitators, given that the PED event has a separate planning group. This PED dialogue could be a large group. District Council staff members will facilitate the PED dialogues. WSCO had a staff member on the planning group for the PED discussions, WSCO will look who it can send as an alternate to that group. The budget line for participant stipends led to lengthy discussion given that we are looking at more participants now than when the proposal was developed – two times as many… The emphasis will be on using these funds to minimize impediments to people’s participation. 

LISA (with help from Chia) will draft a participation form that will alert us to the barriers folks may face.  BETSY will draft a standard form people can fill out to receive the stipend to address their barriers to participation. BETSY will contact Smart Trips about potential help on free bus passes (NOTE: Smart Trips was able to get Metro Transit to donate free bus passes). BETSY and CHIA will go over the specifics of the budget line items and let the steering committee know how stipends will be dealt with (NOTE: up to 10 district councils can receive stipends for staff participation – starting with $360/council. Should fewer than 10 councils participate, additional funds will be available to the PED Planning group members). Printing costs should be covered by the line item amount with additional printing being provided by participating steering committee councils.

CHIA will send out both versions of the curriculum for Parks so committee members can edit.

Recruiting – need to recruit district councils for PED dialogue; LESLIE will check with Arlington Hills about PED dialogue location (NOTE: that location is now confirmed).

Next meeting for Steering Cmte will be September 8 from 10-12p at D1 office.

NOTE: Police and Youth/Family dialogues are Mondays September 14 – October 12 from 6-8p at the Wellstone Center, 179 E. Robie Street

Parks and Community dialogues are Mondays October 19 – November 16 from 6-8p at the Arlington Hills Community Center, 1200 Payne Avenue

PED and District Council dialogue is Wednesday October 14 from 2 – 8p at Arlington Hills 

Notes from 8/3/15 Community Action Team Meeting

The Community Action Team of the Dialogue to Action Project met on Monday August 3 at the Wellstone Center, El Rio Vista Rec Center on the West Side.

There was an initial welcome and personal updates from individuals attending. It was a small group this month. In attendance were Chia and Betsy (District 1); Clara, John S and Steve (D4); John L, John B and Kurt (Police Dept.), and Diane (City and D16)

We had a recap of ground rules and added a rule to stay on task, noting that we have had a lot of side conversations in previous meetings that have taken us a bit off track at times. In light of this we reviewed the purpose of this group in the Dialogue to Action project – trying to clear up misunderstandings about what this group is. This group is not focused on having the actual but is intended to do the planning needed to have the dialogues be successful in the fall. The 4 task forces set up at the July meeting with membership from this planning group are going to do work on Police guide, the Parks guide, on recruiting for the dialogues, and on finding the background data that is necessary for each dialogue.

Diane reviewed the data used in the original cross cultural dialogue. These included data from MN Compass showing disparities in median income, home ownership, poverty level, non-insured status, and education level among different racial and ethnic groups. There were also data at the state level on the prison population by ethnicity. We discussed what of these data we wanted to include and what additional data we would like to have. The main focus was on looking at the local level as much as possible. There was a suggestion that we look at ASANDC survey of Frogtown residents about  their use of Parks for the Parks guide. The CAT asks the data task force to get together and then look at the options and figure out what needs to be background information for the fall dialogues. Diane will send out a meeting wizard to set up a meeting of this group.

The next topic was Strategic Planning for the dialogues. The steering committee proposed dates and locations for each set of dialogues. They proposed that the Police and youth dialogues take place at the Wellstone Center from September 14 – October 12, with a goal of 50 participants. These will be divided into 2-3 groups each with 2 facilitators – the number is dependent on the total number of facilitators. We discussed the breakdown of composition of these groups in terms of the proportion of youth, to community members to police. The suggestion was that there be no more than 1/3 of the total be police officers and 2/3 be youth and community members. Then the question was how do we recruit police officers? It was determined that 5 officers per district (E, W, C) is the goal. There was a lengthy discussion on how to keep youth and their guardians engaged throughout the process.  Police have tried several approaches and are concerned about long term commitment through the entire dialogue process. They have found that focusing on the very, very local means that there actually weren’t incidents that people had experienced that they could talk about. There was some discussion about whether a 5 session model would really work and some discussion of different models of how to do this. In the end, we will stick with the dialogue model and its curriculum.

We decided that by recruiting from churches throughout the city we could enlist the pastors to help identify families that would be interested and have the commitment to stick with the process. A list of faith organizations was developed and a plan for contacting them and recruiting. We discussed that the final location needs to have breakout rooms, need to be accessible for a variety of transportation options and that we will need to identify transportation needs of potential participants. We will limit the space for other community members (not youth and their families).

The critieria for participation are that folks be residents of Saint Paul, committed to the effort, that the youth be mature enough to participate, that all parts of Saint Paul are represented, that the family be willing to attend, and that we are made aware of any transportation needs.

The facilitator training is proposed for August 29, noon to 4, Saturday – MayChy and Thaoke will be providing the training at the District 1 offices.

There will be a run-through for Police Guide – August 17 location TBD 5:30-7:30

There will be a run-through for Parks – September 15 location TBD 5:30-7:30

Additional materials to be included in Police guide should be a list of law enforcement agencies operating in Saint Paul, flyer of how police prioritize calls, etc.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:20p. Next meeting is the run-through for Police Guide.