A Special Invitation from the Shoreham Area Advisory Committee
Dear Northeast Minneapolis Neighbor,
We thank the neighborhood organizations that have participated in and supported SAAC over the years. On Tuesday, Aug. 24, weıd like to show our appreciation to the community and to provide Northeast neighborhood leaders with an update on the latest news about Shoreham Yards and other key sites of environmental concern in our community. We are inviting you to join SAAC and other special guests on a Toxic Tour of northeast Minneapolis. SAAC's co-host will be Minneapolis City Council Member Don Samuels. Weıll board the River City Trolley at 6 p.m. at the Columbia Park Manor parking lot (Central Avenue and 33rd Avenue NE) and travel to several Northeast sites, including Shoreham Yards.
At each stop, "tour guides" your neighbors actively involved in the site will share how theyıre working to make our community a better place for all of us. We'll wind up back at what we believe could be Northeast Minneapolis' only waterfall, where youıre welcome to join your neighbors for some socializing.
We hope you look upon this Toxic Tour on the trolley not only as an opportunity to learn about important environmental issues facing Northeast Minneapolis, but as a chance to meet your fellow neighborhood leaders and to share ideas on whatıs working and what's not working for us as community volunteers.
Because the trolley has limited space, please RSVP by calling (612) 782-8241. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
We also encourage you and others in your neighborhood who have questions or concerns about Shoreham's "ripple effect" to join their fellow Northeast neighbors at our monthly SAAC meetings. We meet the second Monday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Holland Neighborhood Improvement Association office, 2516 Central Ave. NE, Minneapolis. Our meetings are open to all.
We look forward to seeing you on Aug. 24 for the Toxic Tour!
On behalf of the community members of SAAC,
Gayle Bonneville
Waite Park resident/SAAC chair
In the heart of our Northeast community, on more than 100 acres, stands the historic Shoreham Yards rail yard. For the past six years, your neighbors on the Shoreham Area Advisory Committee (SAAC) have met monthly with railroad representatives, elected officials, city and state staff, and community members. We have discussed environmental and safety concerns, redevelopment, blight reduction, historic preservation and more, as charged by the 1998 court settlement that created SAAC as a community forum.
Over the years, we have learned that Shoreham is the largest polluted site in Minneapolis. The contamination from Shoreham extends well beyond the rail yardıs borders and into other areas of northeast Minneapolis. According to the state of Minnesota, our neighborhoods have been impacted by groundwater and soil pollution stemming from Shoreham Yards, and a number of wells in the area are also contaminated. We are awaiting results of tests that will indicate if this pollution is reaching as far as the Mississippi River.