Posts Tagged ‘Phillips Community Parks Initiative’
2323 11th Phillips Community Center Update Park Board”'s Planning Committee Passes PCC Plan
by Robert Albee It wasn”'t really a surprise! January 5th”'s Minneapolis Park Board Meeting was the occasion when Planning Committee members voted unanimously to support the Phillips Community Parks Initiative”'s (PCPI) re-use plan to utilize available space within the 49,000 square foot facility. The plan promotes programs and activities to serve persons of all ages and cultures residing within the Phillips Community. No surprise”“because on December 15, Planning Committee commissioners invited the Phillips Community Parks Initiative (PCPI) to publicly present its plan for re-use of the Phillips Community Center praising these efforts as an excellent beginning for a plan that combined community-based tenants working side-by-side with the Park Board”'s Community Service Area (CSA) #6 staff. When the Request For Proposal was issued by the Park Board, commissioners and staff sought the following: Community partners that will add programming and services that are compatible and complimentary to the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. Utilizing all the space available in the building for community use. A tenant or tenants that have a the vision and financial resources to renovate the interior and exterior of the building and provide rental income to offset the building utilities, operating costs and provide for long term building maintenance and operation of the center. A service provider with a strong interest in the community and a solid reputation for service. According to a December 15th Memorandum submitted by Jayne Miller, MPRB”'s new Superintendent: The proposal submitted by the Phillips Coalition [PCPI} is comprehensive and includes a wide range of services to be provided to the community in addition to services provided by the MPRB. The Pillsbury Waite House, a tenant in another MPRB building, is included in the Phillips Coalition and would provide many complimentary youth services that would be a [...]
Phillips Community Center at 2323 11th Ave building Update
by Robert Albee The Phillips Community Parks Initiative members met on Tuesday, December 14th with MPRB President John Erwin, Commissioner Scott Vreeland, Jayne Miller, the new MPRB Superintendent and with Al Bangoura, the CSA #6 Director that serves the Phillips Community. This meeting gave the PCPI members an opportunity to determine what the MPRB Commissioners were considering and review any concerns that were raised during earlier individual visits with each MPRB commissioner.. Feedback from the meeting was very positive, indicating that there would be some parameters established by the Park Board that once addressed could lead to a signing of leases for space within the Phillips Community Center. The next day, on Wednesday, December 15th, the MPRB Planning Committee sponsored a presentation by PCPI members to formally outline and present the overall plan and request for space in the Phillips Community Center facility. This presentation was designed to provide the basic information to any interested media producer/writer and an opportunity to present the plan via cable television on Channel 79. PCPI”'s presentation was met with unanimous praise and encouragement. The next and final formal step in the process will be to appear before the entire Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board on Wednesday, January 5, 2011. At this time the board will choose to ratify the recommendation of the Planning Committee to go forward with the proposed leasing and space utilization proposal PCPI proponents are requesting that the building become available by March 1, 2011. The MPRB is currently removing all carpeting and ceiling tiles and will be repainting the common areas prior to any lease ups of the facility.
PCPI Pitches PCC Proposal to Park Personnel
by Robert Albee After three months of waiting, the Phillips Community Parks Initiative (PCPI) finally had an opportunity to present its proposal to the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) for leasing and participating in the operations of the Phillips Community Center. The actual written proposal was submitted July 9th and project organizers have been waiting ever since to formally address the opportunities face-to-face with Park Board staff and commissioners. Presentations were finally made on November 3rd and November 4th. MPRB staff members Don Siggelkow, Judd Reichert and Al Bangoura attended the two days of presentations provided by the Waite House, Soos Early Childhood Learning Center, Minneapolis Swims a “wellness” coalition including Native American Community Clinic, Running Wolf Fitness Center, Freeport West, A Partnership Of Diabetics (A-POD), Guri Nabad and Ventura Village neighborhood. The other three Phillips Community neighborhoods, East Phillips Improvement Coalition, Mid Town Phillips and Phillips West Neighborhood Association were on hand supporting most of the other presenters and the notion of the MPRB and Phillips Community jointly supporting the Community Services Area (CSA), currently comprising Phillips Community and Eliot Park neighborhood. Soos represents a Day Care center seeking to move from South 33rd Street and Chicago Avenue and was not included in the group presentations but all the rest of the groups presented together as an applicant”'s coalition and then separately as the Pillsbury United Communities (Waite House), Minneapolis Swims and Soos. The response of MPRB staff was friendly and very responsive but stopped short of making any commitments to the applicants who will present their report and recommendations to the MPRB commissioners. Then the MPRB commissioners will then decide to approve or reject the request, which is expected to take place within the next four to six weeks. The [...]
Mpls. Swims Plunges in With Pool Proposal to Park Board
By Robert Albee Citing statistics of persons of color and low incomes drowning in the Land of 10,000 Lakes prompted Minneapolis Swims and the Phillips Community Parks Initiative (PCPI) into pushing the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board (MPRB) toward supporting a proposal to enable them to pursue independent funding to restore the 75”' pool located in the now-closed Phillips Community Center building, scheduled for reopening in February, 2011. Minneapolis Swims is the brainchild of East Phillips residents Hannah and Kevin Lieder who have begun efforts to organize Phillips residents and stakeholders for the effort needed to get the pool up, running and sustainable. Hannah, a swimming instructor at the Mid-Town YWCA has long sought the opportunities to get a better handle on the life-skills of water safety and fun associated with recreational swimming. (more…)
