Waite Park Community Council

You are invited to a public meeting to discuss proposed changes to identify bicycle boulevards on 22nd Avenue between Central Avenue and Arthur Street, as well as Tyler, Polk, and Fillmore Streets between 37th Avenue NE and East Hennepin Avenue. The proposed route of the Fillmore/Polk/Tyler Street bike boulevard through the Waite Park neighborhood would be along Tyler Street from Saint Anthony Parkway to 36th Avenue NE.

The next public meeting is:
Wednesday, February 17th, 6:00pm
Windom Park Recreation Center, 2251 Hayes St NE

You can find out more information about bike boulevards and the Fillmore/Polk/Tyler Street project at the City of Minneapolis' bicycle boulevard website. You can download the flyer and more information below.

Fillmore22ndPublicMeetingFlyer.pdf

On Wednesday, February 3, Jeff Lohaus from the Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association (NEMAA) will be at the Waite Park Community Council meeting to discuss the Arts in Northeast Minneapolis and upcoming NEMAA events. The Waite Park Community Council will also discuss neighborhood participation in the upcoming residential energy saving program through the Center for Energy and Environment.

Waite Park Community Council meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in the Waite Park Community Center at 1810 34th Ave. NE. All Waite Park meetings are open to the public. We hope to see you there!

Several meetings for residents in the City of Minneapolis will be coming up in the next few weeks.

The Eastside Bike Task Force will be meeting to discuss plans for the Fillmore/Polk Street bike boulevard and the 18th Street bike path on Saturday, January 9, at the Ritz Theater (345 13th Avenue NE) from 10:00 - 11:30am.

The Second Police Precinct will be holding Training for Block Club leaders on January 27 starting at 6:00pm at the Second Precinct Police Station (1911 Central Avenue NE). For questions and reservations, please call (612) 673-2874.

The Second Precinct Advisory Committee will be hosting a program on housing inspections with Angie Hugen, Supervisor of Housing for the City of Minneapolis, on Monday, January 11, at Monroe Village (1900 Central Avenue NE) at 6:00pm.

The Waite Park Community Council is proud to welcome two new members to our neighborhood board, Mitch Puff and Leah Huyser.

Mitch Puff comes to WPCC with a background in event management and graphic design.  He has lived and worked in northeast for ten years and a resident of Waite Park for two years. Mitch is looking forward to being a more active member of the community.

Alethea (Leah) Huyser is a two year veteran of the Waite Park Neighborhood, where she lives with her husband and dog.  She is a lawyer who is currently employed by the United States District Court, District of Minnesota.  Leah is excited to be a part of a community that has both deep roots and a vibrant young community and she looks forward to many great years here. 

Most of Waite Park was originally designated as an at-risk area for foreclosures in 2009, qualifying it for Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) funding. However in the past 7 months the foreclosure crisis seems to have stabilized. From 05/01/09-08/03/09 there were 4 foreclosures in Waite Park, of which only two had been in foreclosure for more than 6 months. All of those properties have since been re-occupied.

From 08/03/09-12/02/09 there have been 5 foreclosures in Waite Park. The properties (listed below) have been referred to the Greater Metropolitan Housing Corporation (GMHC), which works with the City of Minneapolis to renovate housing; any of this most recent group of foreclosures that have not yet been reoccupied could be considered by GMHC as candidates for the NSP program mentioned above.

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#              address                                                       date of foreclosure

909072    3559 Pierce St. N E, Minneapolis                   09/03/09
910235    3135 Johnson St. N E, Minneapolis               10/14/09
909300    3214 Johnson St. N E, Minneapolis                09/18/09
908365    3611 Benjamin St. N E, Minneapolis              08/27/09
910056    1612 Hollywood Ave. N E, Minneapolis         10/02/09

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If area residents have any input regarding foreclosures, the condition of foreclosed properties, vandalism of foreclosed properties, or any other concerns regarding foreclosures, please contact Jason Schoch of the Waite Park Community Council at waiteparkcc@gmail.com.

From Carol Oosterhuis at the Second Precinct:

We are notifying you of a recent arrest of an individual in or around your property or your neighborhood.  We are asking that you tell us how you feel about this crime and/or offender and how this impacts your quality of life.  We will give your input to the judge, who will review your input before sentencing.  You do not have to be a direct victim of the crime or see the crime to give us your input. Your input truly makes a difference.

How to write an impact statement?  There is no right format and you don't have to be creative.  Many community members convey the same message on each of the impact statements that they write.

Generally, you can start by stating how you have been impacted: financially, emotionally, physically, and so on.  You can end by describing what you are hoping the court will do:  send the person to jail, order the person to get treatment, order the person to get employment, order the person to stay out of a particular area (i.e. a geographic restriction for a particular neighborhood), sentenced to service for garbage pickup, graffiti removal and so on.
Remember:  it is more important to send an impact statement than to worry about how it is written.  Just send it!  Whatever you write will be presented and can improve the safety of your community.

Keep in mind that your statement can be written and submitted by you or any neighborhood entity, block club, neighborhood association or business.  So, it is perfectly acceptable if you would like to write one on behalf of neighbors, your family, or any other group representing a portion of the neighborhood, provided they have agreed to you doing so.

Please return your statement at least three days prior to the court date to assure that your statement arrives in time for the offender's court appearance. You can download a copy of the Community Impact Statement below.    

Email your statement to: 2precinctimpact@ci.minneapolis.mn.us or mail the completed Community Impact Statement Form to:

2nd Precinct Paralegal
2nd Precinct
1911 Central Ave NE
Minneapolis, MN 55418

    
community impact statements (robert theodore dixon) 091203 wa.doc