Marcy Holmes Neighborhood Association

Design of the Washington Avenue Transit/Pedestrian Mall Public Meeting

Wednesday, August 20th, 2008
5:30-6:30pm

Coffman Union, Room 303
University of MN, East Bank

Please attend this open house to share your thoughts on how the Washington Avenue Mall should look and create a safe destination for students, staff, community members, and visitors. A brief presentation will be made about the process and sketches of design concepts for the Washington Avenue Mall will be available. Design teams and staff from Central Corridor, University of Minnesota, and the City of Minneapolis will be stationed throughout the room to explain concepts, answer questions, and take feedback on sketches. Public feedback will be used to continue the design process and the design team will return for another public meeting in September to share the mall design progress.

<strong>Design of the Washington Avenue Transit/Pedestrian Mall Public Meeting</strong>

<strong>Wednesday, August 20th, 2008</strong>
5:30-6:30pm

Coffman Union, Room 303
University of MN, East Bank

Please attend this open house to share your thoughts on how the Washington Avenue Mall should look and create a safe destination for students, staff, community members, and visitors.  A brief presentation will be made about the process and sketches of design concepts for the Washington Avenue Mall will be available. Design teams and staff from Central Corridor, University of Minnesota, and the City of Minneapolis will be stationed throughout the room to explain concepts, answer questions, and take feedback on sketches.  Public feedback will be used to continue the design process and the design team will return for another public meeting in September to share the mall design progress.

Sixth Ave. Native Plantings Restoration
Gardening Volunteers Needed

Where: Sixth Avenue Greenway - 6th Avenue and University, Minneapolis
(near Stone Arch Bridge)

What: Remove weeds/add mulch in boulevards along the 6th Avenue Greenway.
Future events might include continued weeding, planting, seeding.
Volunteers needed on an ongoing basis.

When: Wednesday, August 27th, 5:30 - 8:00 PM

Project: The Sixth Avenue Greenway Project was initiated by the
Marcy-Holmes Neighborhood Association in partnership with the NPS and the
City of Minneapolis. It is an urban greenway that was established with
native plants and wildflowers in 2000 - 2001 along both sides of Sixth
Avenue between University Avenue and Main Street SE. The greenway includes
new bike lanes, trees, boulevards, and sculptures of local, historic
architecture. Located in an industrial area adjacent to the Stone Arch
Bridge in Minneapolis, the Sixth Avenue Greenway gave southeast Minneapolis
a new gateway to the Mississippi River. Unfortunately, weeds and new
development have impacted the plantings in most of the boulevards and
intensive weed removal is necessary in some of the boulevards with
replanting needed in others. This volunteer event will concentrate on weed
removal and mulching. Planting of native plants is also necessary and will
be scheduled in the near future. Volunteers are needed to help maintain
the plantings and remove weeds. Weed and native plant identification will
be provided. Opportunities to ‘adopt-a-boulevard’ by providing continued
maintenance are available.

<strong>Sixth Ave. Native Plantings Restoration
Gardening Volunteers Needed</strong>

<strong>Where:</strong> Sixth Avenue Greenway - 6th Avenue and University, Minneapolis
(near Stone Arch Bridge)

<strong>What:</strong>  Remove weeds/add mulch in boulevards along the 6th Avenue Greenway.
Future events might include continued weeding, planting, seeding.
Volunteers needed on an ongoing basis.

<strong>When:</strong>  Wednesday, August 27th, 2008
5:30 - 8:00 PM

<strong>Project:</strong>  The Sixth Avenue Greenway Project was initiated by the
Marcy-Holmes Neighborhood Association in partnership with the NPS and the
City of Minneapolis.  It is an urban greenway that was established with
native plants and wildflowers in 2000 - 2001 along both sides of Sixth
Avenue between University Avenue and Main Street SE.  The greenway includes
new bike lanes, trees, boulevards, and sculptures of  local, historic
architecture.  Located in an industrial area adjacent to the Stone Arch
Bridge in Minneapolis, the Sixth Avenue Greenway gave southeast Minneapolis
a new gateway to the Mississippi River.  Unfortunately, weeds and new
development have impacted the plantings in most of the boulevards and
intensive weed removal is necessary in some of the boulevards with
replanting needed in others.  This volunteer event will concentrate on weed
removal and mulching.  Planting of native plants is also necessary and will
be scheduled in the near future.  Volunteers are needed to help maintain
the plantings and remove weeds.  Weed and native plant identification will
be provided.  Opportunities to ‘adopt-a-boulevard’ by providing continued
maintenance are available.

A “University District” website is being created as part of a LIVE NEAR YOUR WORK campaign being aimed at employees of University of MN, nearby hospitals and downtown businesses. It will feature information, photos and description of the district neighborhoods along with current homes for sale (photo, stats, link to seller). Anyone with marketing experience or web design background is invited to join the organizing committee.

Contact Melissa Bean at the MHNA Office: 623-7633

MANY THANKS to MHNA’s 2008 National Night Out  contributors:

* MATCOM, Inc.
* HOLIDAY
* PRACNA on MAIN
* VIC’s
* LUND’s
* WILDE ROAST
* TARGET
* MHNA
* KAFE 421
* BRASA Rotisserie
* AUTOGRAPHICS PRINTING
* QWEST

And hostess with the mostess, Robin Nelson.

PS - the fantastic music was provided from neighbors Dick Luedtke, on accordion, and Jason Novak, our Irish bagpiping neighbor, along with his group “Rumgumption”. Check out their webiste at rumgumption.com.

The NE Farmers Market is located at the parking lot of St. Boniface Church at 7th and University Ave NE.  The hours are 9 am to 1 pm each Saturday to Oct 18th, 2008.

Lafayette Montgomery, from the Let’s Cook store, will come on each 4th Saturday of each month through the summer. The Chef will lead a tour of folks through the market at 11:00 am and visit some of the vendors and buy some products from each of the vendors and he will lead the group to the Let’s Cook store at 330 E Hennepin Ave for a culinary demonstration with lots of fun also!

HENNEPIN COUNTY LIBRARY COLLABORATES WITH THE LOFT ON ‘FIRST PAGES: CREATIVE WRITING LAB’

14 Free Labs Developed Exclusively for Hennepin County Library Customers

Hennepin County Library is collaborating with the Loft Literary Center to present “First Pages: Creative Writing Lab,” a new series of free writing programs for adults this fall at Hennepin County libraries.  Registration for some of the writing labs begins in mid-August at some libraries.

This is a new collaborative venture for the Loft Literary Center and Hennepin County Library, which have developed these creative writing labs exclusively for Hennepin County Library to make high quality writing instruction accessible to all adults.  Loft instructors typically are published writers who also teach writing.

The “First Pages” curriculum consists of 14 creative writing labs, six of which will be presented at various libraries this fall.  Additional labs will be presented in the winter and spring.  Curriculum was developed to meet a demonstrated need based on community analysis and to further the missions of both organizations.  “First Pages” writing labs are free and last one hour.

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Delegates needed for Neighborhood Summit in Omaha

Date: September 4 and 5, 2008 (leaves Mpls 5:30 am)
Location: Omaha, Nebraska

There are still some seats available for the trip to the Bank of the West Neighborhood Summit in Omaha Nebraska on September 4 and 5. Please respond soon if you are interested in attending.

The Summit will be an opportunity to learn from residents of Des Moines, Omaha, Wichita and Kansas City what they are doing around key issues, share ideas, network, tour Omaha, and have fun! Bank of the West will provide accommodations, and Minneapolis NRP will arrange for a motor coach (i.e. bus!) from Minneapolis to Omaha for the two-day Summit. The Summit this year will focus on environmental issues and current challenges to neighborhoods.
If you have been active in our neighborhood’s NRP and are interested in attending, please provide your name, address, phone number, email address, and neighborhood; your involvement with your neighborhood association and NRP; and how you intend to share what you learned from the Summit to:

Carsten Slostad (cslostad@nrp.org) NRP Crown Roller Mill Ste 425 105 Fifth Ave S Minneapolis, MN 55401-2536

Cost: Costs to delegates will be minimal (hotel & meals provided). Participants may want to anticipate incidental expenses for meals before and after the conference, or for entertainment during free time. Reservations must be made ASAP.

BOULEVARD TREE orders are now being accepted for the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood.

MHNA received a University of Minnesota Stadium Good Neighbor Fund grant for more trees to be planted in spring 2009. That means we need to place our order by October 1st, this fall. We have funding for approx 80 trees.

If you have space for a boulevard tree, or have one that is coming down due to Dutch Elm disease, order a (free) tree. Mpls Park & Rec. forestry will plant and mulch. It is up to property owners to water. Reminders will be sent to water trees. The grant is for planting only, no stump removal. If your boulevard tree is coming down, a new tree can be planted nearby, but old stumps will not be ground up in time for next spring planting.

Contact the MHNA Office: send email to (office@marcy-holmes.org or phone 612-623-7633) with your name, address, planting site (if it’s not on front boulevard). First come, first served on the trees.

Minneapolis National Night Out

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

For information about organizing your National Night Out block party go to: www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/nno

Submit your application to block off the street by 22 so there won’t be a charge.
Contact the MHNA office if you are having an event in Marcy-Holmes and we will post info on our website.