Minneapolis – Engaging Our Community
Community newsNCR Open House - March 25 NCR Open House - March 25Posted Feb 25 -- The NCR Department invites you to attend its open house on March 25, 2010 from 3:30-7:30p.m. This will be an opportunity for community members and City staff to learn more about the department, services it provides and meet NCR staff. The open house will be held at the NCR Office, Tri Tech Center, 331 Second Ave South- Room 220 (skyway level), Minneapolis, MN 55401. Entrance to the Tri-tech building is on the corner of 4th Street and 2nd Ave (Click here for map and to get directions) NCR receives Bush Foundation Grant for Immigrant and Refugee Engagement InitiativePosted Feb 25-- On January 25, 2010 City Council authorized the Neighborhood and Community Relations Department to accept a grant from the Bush Foundation ($100,000) for a pilot project focusing on connecting new immigrants and refugees to widely varied resources and services, support connections within the community. Click here for more information (see agenda item #19) NCEC establishes its Committee of the Whole (CoW)Posted Feb 25 – At the January 19, 2010 regular NCEC meeting the commission approved the proposed Plan for Developing a Program, which established the NCEC CoW. The CoW will take place at a regular location and will be held the second Wednesday of every month from 5-6:30p.m. Click here for more information on NCEC and the NCEC CoW Minneapolis 2010 Census: It’s in our Hands (Coming Soon)Posted Feb 25 -- For Census information please visit http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/2010census/ More information for neighborhoods will be added soon. NRP Staff assigned to NCRPosted Feb 5 -- Ensuring a smooth transition between NRP and the NCR programs, NRP Neighborhood Specialist, Robert Thompson, will be working with the NCR department starting February 15, 2010. Robert will be working directly with the neighborhoods, the NCEC and the NCR department staff with program development and program transition details. Robert’s experience and expertise in neighborhood work, along with his extensive experience with NRP Phases I and II, will provide valuable guidance for this work. Robert will be working with the NCR department on a half-time basis through the end of this year. 2010 Bridge Fund now availablePosted Jan 27 -- As you may know, the Neighborhood and Community Engagement (NCEC) has been working on Bridge Fund (previously know as Transition Fund), intended to assist officially-recognized neighborhood organizations by the City of Minneapolis that have limited access to other sources of administrative funding in 2010. The Bridge Fund is a one-time funding source that comes from the City’s general funds. The Neighborhood and Community Relations (NCR) Department and the NCEC is glad to announce that the Bridge Fund Guidelines are now available! See Bridge Fund Guidelines and timeline. Letters of interests will be accepted starting February 1, 2010. The evaluation is expected to include a site visit so please submit your letter of interest as soon as possible. The first round of evaluations will consider letters of interest submitted between February 1 and February 15, 2010. After February 15th, neighborhood organizations may still submit a letter of interest; however, it will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. It is to your advantage to submit your letter before February 15th or if afterwards, as early as possible. Please be sure to read the guidelines carefully. NCR Department welcomes the new Access and Outreach ManagerPosted Jan 11 -- The Neighborhood and Community Relations Department (NCR) is very pleased to announce that Ahmed Muhumud has joined the department as the Access and Outreach Manager. In addition to Ahmed serving as the Access and Outreach Manager, the department will be hiring additional Access and Outreach Specialist. Ahmed will lead this team of 5 staff members dedicated to supporting and building meaningful connections with all residents of the city. The Access and Outreach team will emphasize outreach to communities where language or cultural norms as well as knowledge of government affect communication and access. The Access and Outreach Team will be a resource for both neighborhood and City departments in supporting broader community engagement. Ahmed will also serve as the City’s lead staff on ADA Title II and Limited English Proficiency compliance. Some of these services were previously performed by the Civil Rights Multicultural Services division, which has now been fully transferred to NCR. Ahmed has a Master’s degree in Public Administration and has most recently worked as the Project Manager for the Minnesota Department of Human Services. Ahmed has extensive project development and management experience. He has also served on the board of the West Bank CDC and volunteered as a tax preparer for the Minnesota Department of Revenue and the IRS working at Volunteers of America site under the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA) and the Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) Programs helping seniors, people with disabilities, and low-income adults and families file their taxes free of charge. His skills and understanding of access and outreach issues will serve the City and neighborhoods well. NCR Department moves to Tri-Tech building the week of January 25thPosted Jan 11 -- The NCR Department, currently located in City Hall 301M, will be moving to a new location the week of January 19th. In all cases, NCR staff will retain their phone numbers and e-mail addresses; however, their mailing address will switch from the City Hall address to Room 220, Tri-Tech Building, 331 2nd Ave South, 55401. Consolidated Redevelopment Tax Increment Financing District Plan ApprovedPosted Jan 11 -- In December 2009 the City Council and Mayor approved the Consolidated Redevelopment Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District plan which will provide funds for neighborhood revitalization purposes and Target Center debt relief. This is an important step toward establishing a new program for neighborhood revitalization purposes to begin in 2011. As a precursor to this decision the NCEC was actively engaged with the Mayor and City Council. Below are the formal letters the commission submitted to Council:
To review the plan and actions taken please visit the Committee of the Whole marked agenda American Recovery and Reinvestment ActPosted Jan 11 -- The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided for many programs and opportunities to assist individuals and families through difficult economic times. The City of Minneapolis has compiled a list of programs or opportunities, with links to the federal agencies that are directing resources which are available at http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/recovery/index.asp The list is not comprehensive as federal agency funds are depleted (for example, if the grant is exhausted) or renewed (for example, in the case of revolving loan fund). Use this list to learn about opportunities that were funded through the Recovery Act and then research the appropriate funding agency for resources. You are invited to follow the work of the Neighborhood and Community Engagement CommissionPosted Sep 29 -- The Neighborhood and Community Engagement Commission is underway. This inaugural commission is busy looking at topics related to a new program for neighborhood organizations scheduled to be in place in 2011, transition between the current NRP Phases 1 and 2 and the new 2011 program, and some structure-related components such as leadership, decision-making styles, by-laws, and more. Each of these elements are fairly complex to fully examine and discuss during monthly two-hour business meetings so the commission also uses task forces to begin some of the work before bringing a recommendation to the full commission. The commission typically meets on the fourth Tuesday of each month. Please visit the NCEC page for exact dates, especially as we move into the holiday season. There are a variety of ways you can follow the work of the full commission and the task forces. Commission members have begun to discuss commission-related topics and post drafts of task force materials online via Google Groups. Follow the work of the commission between meetings by checking out the commission’s Google Group page where you can review documents and the discussion between commission members outside of the business meeting. You can also follow commission meetings and task force work in a variety of other ways.
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