Commentary: Why aren”™t city officials listening to residents?

By Janet skidmore

I try to be a good citizen.  I volunteer as a block club leader and as a neighborhood safety patrol member.  I am a long time reserve teacher in the Minneapolis Public Schools.  I have been rehabbing a beautiful 100 year old home in south Minneapolis not to flip it, but to live in it myself and restore its beauty for the sake of preservation.  I provide really affordable housing for 3 women in my own home. 

I have a block club with an email list of over 40 people, plus I am active on Nextdoor, where I hear the opinions of many of my neighbors in the Central neighborhood of Minneapolis.

I attend community meetings when I can, even the ones that are in the middle of the day, which precludes me taking a substitute teaching job that day, resulting in a day”™s loss of income.

I would think that the city of Minneapolis would appreciate a resident like me and want to keep me living here.

I can show you numerous emails representing years of attempts to address on behalf of myself and my neighbors situations that have occurred in our community with no input or recourse on our part.… Read the rest “Commentary: Why aren”™t city officials listening to residents?”