October 2007 Greetings

Greetings Shingle Creek Neighbors!

Since becoming Chair of the Shingle Creek Neighborhood Association just five months ago, it’s already been quite amazing meeting so many new and old neighbors and hearing how these monthly recaps have been helpful in better understanding the Shingle Creek Neighborhood Association. The efforts of our small group of neighborhood volunteers can and have effected much change in our community. We are very lucky to have and participate in the City of Minneapolis Neighborhood Revitalization Program.

Last month, I had the privilege of representing Shingle Creek at the 4th Annual Neighborhood Summit held in Des Moines where over one hundred and twenty representatives from Des Moines, Omaha, Kansas City and Minneapolis attended. After listening to representatives from the other major cities, it was clear how the other cities were more a top-down neighborhood revitalization program model. This experience emphasized how unique and critical the “grassroots, bottom-up” approach of the City of Minneapolis Neighborhood Revitalization Program(NRP) truly is and why it is a national award-winning and world-renown model for citizen participation and revitalization. The other cities lag far behind the Minneapolis NRP model which gives each neighborhood resident a chance to gather at the neighborhood level and educate themselves about city, state, and local government to make better and informed decisions and provides an opportunity for residents to become involved in creating and improving the stronger community they envision.

In August, SCNA and LBNA held a joint neighborhood meeting to address crime and safety in the neighborhoods. We had a diverse panel, which included our City
Council President Barb Johnson, State Representative Joe Mullery, Minneapolis Park Commissioner John Olson, MPRB Park Police, CCP/Safe Specialist McDonough and LT. Michel Sauro who came out to answer our questions and listen to our concerns. The most important thing reinforced was the need to call 911 when in doubt about what’s happening around you. Some of the things we can do as residents are to form active block clubs, know our neighbors, and keep our doors locked. Other available methods are to get involved with your neighborhood organization or become active in the Fourth Precinct Adversity Committee (4PAC), which meets monthly with the Inspector of the 4th Precinct and other officials.

On October 3rd, SCNA is also hosting the quarterly meeting of Camden Alliance of Neighborhoods (CAN!) which is a big acronym for all of the seven neighborhoods in Camden. It will feature members of the school board and their staff and the President of the School Board Pam Costain and Dr. Perry will be
in attendance. One of the most vital issues facing Shingle Creek and many other neighborhoods are our public schools. SCNA is proud to be on the forefront of advocating for a beneficial community reuse of Shingle Creek Elementary School and also having members of the School Board come to our community to give an
update on the progress of the Northside Initiative. This meeting is a chance for anyone to come out and have a face-to-face contact with our elected School
Board representatives and hear first hand about important decisions they will be making on behalf of our children and future children in our community. Please feel free to attend this important meeting.

Lastly for now, SCNA believes good communication is imperative. We provide this newsletter and interactive website to help keep residents informed about upcoming important dates, projects, programs, and events in our community. Thanks for checking out our neighborhood website often for updates and for more details on the topics above.
Til next month,
Brock Hanson
SCNA Chair