Planning Projects
Community Engagement Policy
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) is updating its Community Engagement Policy. The policy guides MPRB’s community engagement processes and practices, and your input will help shape an updated policy.
About this project:
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) Community Engagement Policy outlines how community stakeholders participate in planning all MPRB park facility construction and redevelopment projects. This project will evaluate the current policy and redraft it based on public feedback.
MPRB staff spent months reflecting on experiences, having conversations with park users, researching best practices around the nation, and learning from local and national thought leaders and community stakeholders to develop a draft update to the MPRB Community Engagement Policy.
The policy guides MPRB’s community engagement processes and practices, and public input will continue to shape how the MPRB uses feedback from the public to influence park projects, programming and care. Click the link below to view the current policy and a draft of the new policy:
Current MPRB Community Engagement Policy
To subscribe to updates on this effort, please visit the project page.
Master Planning for Hiawatha Golf Course Property
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board is in the process of orchestrating a master planning process to explore methods of balancing water management and use of the Hiawatha Golf Course property. The Community Advisory Committee (CAC) process is one of the best paths to a robust conversation supporting the master planning process. During the master planning process, the CAC will meet frequently, even as MPRB staff and consultants reach out to others interested in the future of the golf course property through other formal and informal input opportunities.
The MPRB has updated its website with a page that is directed solely to this project. The site is being populated with a calendar of meetings and events, master planning progress updates, and presentations made during CAC and other meetings—in addition to the core materials gathered through the past few years of study. There are links to work being conducted by other agencies that might inform the work of master planning the golf course property, and a link that allows interested stakeholders to be notified about the project.
CAC meetings are open to the public, and formal meeting notices will be sent out by email. The final 15 minutes of each meeting are dedicated to providing the public an opportunity to address the CAC and members of the public in attendance. The next CAC meeting is being scheduled for February, to share initial draft design concepts and notice will go out via gov delivery when the details are available. The materials shared with the CAC and attending members of the public at the December CAC meeting will be available on the project page early next week.
All CAC meetings are public and anyone interested in the creation of a long-term plan for the Hiawatha Golf Course Property is welcome to attend.
Previous Action
At the July 25, 2018 Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) of Commisioners meeting, commissioners approved a modified Resolution 2018-230 after the Hiawatha Golf Course Property Master Plan CAC requested clarification on the parameters of the new master plan for the property.
After a lengthy public testimony period and board debate, commissioners voted 6-2 to approve the modified version of Resolution 2018-230. The modified resolution directs the CAC to only consider a reduced pumping scenario and bring forward a solution that includes, at a minimum, a flood-resilient and ecologically-driven nine-hole configuration for a golf course on the property.
The modified Resolution 2018-230 also included Board direction to the CAC to reflect in the master plan appropriate methods of recognizing the role of Hiawatha Golf Course and the history of black golfers in the Minneapolis park system.
Please visit the project page for more information and to sign up for notification of upcoming meetings.
Lake Nokomis Shoreline Enhancements
Shoreline enhancements will improve habitat for both aquatic and upland animal species. It will stabilize erosion, seek to remove invasive plants, and create a functional continuum of shoreline zones. Plantings will accommodate fluctuations in water level, allowing for resilience to changing water level conditions in the lake. Improvements will be constructed primarily along the north shoreline of the lake.
Project still requires regulatory approval
Work expected to be performed in 2019
The Lake Nokomis Shoreline Enhancements project is still working its way through an extensive permitting process and work is expected to take place in 2019. An update on the permitting process and project design is below.
Permitting Update
Development of construction drawings is nearly complete. However, Lake Nokomis is a contributing property to the Grand Rounds Historic District, which requires the project to go through a Section 106 permit process that accounts for any effects on the historic nature of the Grand Rounds.
First, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) will review the project, then it will send the plans to the Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO).
The proposed project creates a natural shoreline edge instead of the hard edge the old Works Progress Administration (WPA)-era retaining walls created around the lake. This project only affects areas where these walls never existed or deteriorated and collapsed long ago, so the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board believes the proposed design has no adverse effect on historic properties and will meet the required standards.
Approval by USACE and SHPO and completion of construction design documents are all expected by the end of 2018. The project is expected to be bid and built in 2019.
Project Design
The proposed design uses three different planting zones along the shoreline.
The Emergent Wetland Zone starts at the ordinary high-water level (OHWL) and extends into the lake. Once established, new aquatic plants will reduce wave energy to help reduce erosion. A temporary fence will be installed to help plants establish.
The Shoreline Buffer Zone lies between the OHWL and wetland boundary. It will be planted with a seed mix that's compatible with shoreline environmental elements.
The Upland Buffer Zone starts at the wetland boundary and extends away from the lake until four feet from the paved trail. It will be planted with a seed mix that's compatible with upland environmental elements. The four-foot strip will be mowed grass. Another temporary fence will also protect new planting areas and connect to the emergent wetland fence.
A variety of access points will still remain so park user can still access the lake.
Questions about this project can be sent to the project manager, Jon Duesman.
Subscribe to the project page to receive updates.
Mississippi Gorge Regional Park Master Plan
A Master Plan is needed to map management strategies befitting a river-adjacent, ecologically rich regional park with the potential to see two very different river futures based on the future of the lock and dam structures nearby on the Mississippi River.
The gorge encompasses parkland flanking both the east and west banks of the Mississippi River between Bridge No. 9 and north edge of Minnehaha Regional Park.
The draft framework concepts and diagrams were shared with the CAC at their last meeting and are available on the project page for review and comment. Feedback can be submitted via survey.
The Final CAC meeting will be held Monday December 10th, 2018 from 5:30-7:30pm at MPRB Headquarters, 2117 West River Road.
At the meeting, the CAC will be asked to make final recommendations on design frameworks for focal areas within Mississippi Gorge Regional Park. If you're unable to attend the meeting, please weigh in online by following the Design Concepts Survey link below.
MPRB staff is aware of community concern regarding the potential of mountain biking in the gorge. This concern will be addressed at the meeting, when natural surface trails and draft frameworks are discussed. Please note that all frameworks currently reflect and support the current use of natural surface trails within the Mississippi Gorge Regional Park, which are pedestrian-only trails.
Subscribe to the project page to receive updates.
Minnehaha Creek Parkway Regional Trail Master Plan
Master Planning is underway for this regional trail. The trail encompasses parkland along both sides Minnehaha Creek between Minnehaha Regional Park and the western city limit.
Over the winter, the project design team will review all feedback received from public meetings, events, and online comments, and create draft concept drawings showing potential improvements along the trail. A published version of the Community Engagement Summary can be found on the project page under "Key Documents."
The concept drawings will be published for public review and discussion in early 2019, then those concepts will be refined after park users have a chance to weigh in on the initial designs.
Subscribe to the project page to receive updates.
Minnehaha Creek FEMA Repairs
At their October 25, 2018 meeting, the MCWD Board of Managers awarded a construction contract of $163,844 to Sunram Construction, Inc. of Corcoran, MN to complete flood repairs along Minnehaha Creek at 9 sites in Minneapolis. The repair work will begin this fall and is expected to continue through summer 2019.This project is happening in conjunction with the MPRB's Minnehaha Parkway Trail master planning process. Please visit the project page for more information.
Phelps Park Improvements
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) will be replacing the playground and wading pool at Phelps Park in 2018/2019! Thank you to all who have participated in the Community input process by sharing your thoughts and opinions on the future of Phelps Park. The schematic drawings reflect the comments and preferences shared by park users and neighbors including the Boys and Girls Club, neighboring childcare centers, neighborhood residents and community organizers.The board of commissioners approved the design plan and construction will begin in Spring of 2019.
Final Schematic Design Concept [PDF]
Questions about this project should be directed to the project manager : Kelly Wilcox, kwilcox@minneapolisparks.org.
Subscribe to the project page to receive updates.
The MPRB is conducting a system-wide needs assessment for our recreation centers and their programs called RecQuest. As you've no doubt noticed, many of our recreation centers are in need of updating. This project is helping the MPRB discover the gaps between our current facilities and offerings as well as the recreation and programming needs of the community to ensure that investments are made responsibly. It also helps ensure that both rec centers and their programming keep pace with the changing demographics and recreation trends of Minneapolis residents. This assessment project gives you a chance to tell us what features and activities you want to see in your recreation centers.
Two important pieces to the project's success will be inclusive community engagement and a racial equity impact assessment, or looking at how racial and ethnic groups may be affected by any proposed decisions. The MPRB Community Outreach department is helping lead both of these essential efforts.
There is no preset agenda or outcome for this assessment, all recommendations will be determined only after the completion of a multi-faceted facilities assessment and in-depth community engagement process. This project will set the stage for the next 25-30 years of investment in recreation centers, most of which are 40-50 years old.
The community advisory committee made recommendations to the board during the month of July:
The four recommended programming priorities are:
Active Older Adults
Youth Development
Access to Equitable Athletics
Equitable School-Age Educational Programs
Keep abreast of this effort via RecQuest project page.
Ecological System Plan
Planning is underway for the Ecological System Plan for the Minneapolis Park system. The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) and the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization (MWMO) are preparing this plan together. This plan will set a vision for making parks and public lands more friendly to the environment.
Specifically, the ecological system plan will:
- Compile, create, and illustrate city-wide ecological data
- Craft a vision for natural resources and public lands within the watershed and city
- Outline guiding principles for management
- Challenge the community to rethink the city around them – from the local neighborhood park to the Grand Rounds to backyards – in terms of ecological function, benefit, and health.
Draft Goals and Strategies have been developed to frame how MPRB can address environmental impacts and concerns in Minneapolis parks. Your input is welcome! Read through the Goals and Strategies and then complete a survey to share your response.
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