In This Issue
St. Anthony  Park Neighborhood News
November 2015
Strategic Planning Complete!

We've done it! The strategic planning process has come to a close. On November 12th, the Board of Directors approved our Strategic Plan. We have been creating and critiquing the plan for the last many months, with special attention to our strategic goals surrounding equity and inclusion. Ourboard members put in numerous hours of work to develop and re-work our goals and vision. This intentional and deliberate process has given us a plan we will proudly implement--one that takes into account planning assumptions, calls our our mission and core values, and delves into strategic goals for our organization over the next five years. 
Thank you to everyone who made this process possible! Thank you to Barbara Raye from the Center for Policy, Planning, and Performance for leading our process. Thank you to our board members who spent a great deal of time working on this document. And thank you to those of you who participated in our surveys or engaged in conversations with us about how to make our neighborhood the bestplace to live, work, and play. We look forward to implementing our plan and supporting SAPCC as a strong and strategic organization.

New Board Members Elected

With over 100 votes in our SAPCC Board Election, we are happy to welcome our three new board members! We excitedly welcome Michael Russelle back for another term to represent North St. Anthony Park. John Mark Lucas, a longtime volunteer on the Transportation Committee, will join him as another representative from North St. Anthony Park. Ian Luby, a PhD candidate in Applied Economics at the University of Minnesota, will join our board from South St. Anthony Park. The Board of Directors affirmed the election results on November 12th. 


                 Michael Russelle                   John Mark Lucas                    Ian Luby
Ecumen Development Process Continues  

Ecumen and Luther Seminary have continued to work on their development process in North St. Anthony Park. After five public meetings, Ecumen came back to the Land Use Committee on November 5th to report on their progress. They have decided to break apart the senior co-op housing (53-55 units planned on the upper campus) to engage the community in that process before going into their other two planned projects.

At the meeting, community members expressed concerns with the process and asked for a neutral forum to exchange ideas. The Land Use Committee voted to create an online forum for community members to add ideas about the project for neighbors to discuss. You can find that forum here . If you would like to add your voice to the discussion, please email cailin@sapcc.org with your thoughts to have them posted on the page.
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The Land Use Committee also took the time to weigh in on the project in a public letter:

November 9. 2015 

The Land Use Committee of the St. Anthony Park Community Council recognizes and appreciates the efforts Ecumen has made to listen and respond to the neighborhood's concerns about the proposed development of property currently owned by Luther Seminary. 

This development would be the largest our neighborhood has experienced in decades. It proposes a senior cooperative located at Como Avenue and Luther Place as well as affordable to market­rate apartments and a "living with services" building at Como Avenue and Eustis Street. Neighbors have expressed great interest and a desire for input on how this development should proceed. 

Ecumen has demonstrated a spirit of cooperation. They have made efforts to include residents in the planning process by means of community meetings as well as the promise of an advisory committee, with monthly reporting to the community through the Community Council as this process moves forward. For the best overall result, we hope Ecumen and the Seminary will give due consideration to the ideas and concerns from members of the community. Ecumen has responded positively to the Land Use Committee's recently issued development guidelines

We welcome Ecumen's continued cooperation. Their representatives will meet monthly with our committee to keep us and the community up­to­date on plans and progress. Our regular meetings are on first Thursdays at 7 p.m. (publicized on our website and the SAPListserv). All Land Use Committee meetings are open to the public. The new location for the meetings is in the Jennings Community Learning Center, 2455 University Avenue W. There is parking behind the building. with access to the building from the parking lot. 

Residents may send ideas and comments about the Ecumen/Luther Seminary project in writing to the Community Council or by email to info@sapcc.org. 

Land Use Committee 
Spotlight on Jennings Community Learning Center
Bill Zimniewicz _Director_ with a Jennings student
Bill Zimniewicz (Director, right) with Jennings student (left)

Jennings Community Learning Center, located at 2455 University Ave. W 55114, often gets overlooked by other neighbors in St. Anthony Park. A charter school serving 7-12th graders dedicated to the mission that  "Students will become productive workers, responsible citizens, self-directed lifelong learners, and creative, healthy individuals," Jennings invests in hands-on learning. Wayne Jennings (below) founded the school after working in MN education for many decades. He and Bill Zimniewicz, the Director of Jennings, continue to build a thriving school here in the south side of St. Anthony Park. They carry out a vision of "global experiences to change lives" to expose their students to the world around them. Students at Jennings have the unique opportunity to plan and engage in travel opportunities. Students this year are planning a trip to South America, navigating the visa process, learning about the culture in advance, and developing skills that world citizens have. Other students have had the opportunity to travel internationally to Ghana, Japan, and Costa Rica, among other places.
Jennings students on an experiential learning trip.
Jennings engages in a form of project-based learning that allows students to learn skills hands-on. This spring and summer, for the first time ever, Jennings had a plot in the
SAP Community Garden. Students got to learn about nutrition, plant-growing, the environment, and cooking with teacher Tom Wendt as their guide. Tom has also led students in building a little free library box. They plan to install a miniature green roof on top of the little free library and install the box in their Community Garden plot. Students will be involved at every step of the way--from learning how to construct such a box to learning about green roofs. The experiences Jennings offers students stands apart from traditional education and these unique educational opportunities happen right here in St. Anthony Park.

Wayne Jennings, Founder and Board Chair
As Jennings continues to grow and thrive, they have expanded their work to start partnering with local organizations. Students at Jennings have expressed interest in getting to know and build relationships with their neighbors, so teachers at Jennings work to support that.  Jennings has also kindly offered their space in the evenings to our Community Council to hold public meetings, Board meetings, and Land Use meetings because their space can accommodate a far larger number of people than the Council's office. As Jennings continues to grow as a fixture in our community, we hope you'll take the time out to visit a public event they hold, stop by one of our Board or Land Use meetings to see their space, or otherwise reach out to them. You can learn more about Jennings on their website:   http://www.jenningsclc.org/ .
Los Ocampo Opens in St. Paul

SAPCC staff received an invitation to attend the grand opening of Los Ocampo's new r estaurant location in St. Paul. Los Ocampo, voted the best Mexican restaurant by City Pages in 2012, will join the Frogtown neighborhood at 615 University Ave. West. 

Los Ocampo, a Twin Cities restaurant, started in
 2003 in Minneapolis and has since expanded to several locations. We're glad to see another great spot to eat in St. Paul. As they continue to expand, we can hope for a location here in St. Anthony Park! 
Air Quality Monitoring Site to Locate in South SAP

Through the hard work of Betty Wheeler, an active member of both the Transportation and Environment Committees, South St. Anthony Park will have an air quality monitoring site. Betty worked with the MN Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to secure a location in South SAP--the community garden. MPCA will provide the air quality monitoring station (to be less than 8'x10') and will track air quality date for 12 months. This will provide SAPCC and our community with invaluable data about the nature of our air quality--especially located so close to the train tracks and the highway. We look forward to seeing the data this produces and using the information we gain to further our environmental strategies and initiatives in the neighborhood. Thank you to Betty Wheeler for leading this process!

Honor Roll Nominations

Every year in January, the City of St. Paul hosts an honor roll gathering to acknowledge the hard work of individuals across the City. We want to know from you: who made a difference in our community? Who do you think deserves the award of 2015 Neighborhood Honor Roll awardee? 

Send your nominations to cailin@sapcc.org with up to 100 words about why you think one of our neighbors deserves the award by December 4th

Board & Land Use Meetings at Jennings

We now host our monthly Board meetings and Land Use Committee meetings at Jennings Community Learning Center, located at 2455 University Ave. W. 

We have outgrown our South St. Anthony Recreation Center home for hosting our larger public meetings. Meeting at Jennings for both our Board and Land Use meetings will continue into the foreseeable future, even as we continue our search for a new home in St. Anthony Park to house our office and other monthly meetings. We'll keep you updated as that search continues! 
Raymond Ave. Phase III Public Meeting Dec. 2nd

Join City Engineer, Barb Mundahl, and the Transportation Committee of SAPCC to discuss plans for Phase III of the Raymond Avenue Traffic Calming project. This marks the final stage of the project, and perhaps the most important one because of its numerous pedestrian crossings and dangerous road under the bridge near Energy Park Drive. Barb Mundahl has worked with the Transportation Committee and interested community members to brainstorm ideas on how to make that stretch of Raymond safer. Come to the meeting to hear about the plans and give feedback!

Photo credit: TC Daily Planet
What: Raymond Ave. Phase III Planning 
When: December 2nd, 6:00-7:45pm
Where: SAP Branch Library 2245 Como Ave. 55108  

We hope you'll join us!
SAP Gets A New Brewery

A hearty welcome to Lake Monster Brewing Taproom! Lake Monster joins SAP in Vandalia Tower Development at 550 Vandalia. Lake Monster will open their doors to a 3,000 square foot taproom on December 4th in a grand opening. The grand opening will feature four brand new beers available for the first time exclusively at the taproom, including a nitro Milk Stout and a Sour Brown Ale. Lake Monster's taproom will be open 4:00-10:00pm Monday through Thursday, 4:00pm-12:00am Friday, 12:00pm-12:00am Saturday, and 12:00-10:00pm Sunday. 

For more information, contact Matt Zanetti at 612.964.6288 or mattzanetti@lakemonsterbrewing.com. Or check out their website

Job Opportunities  
business-presentation.jpg

Transit for Livable Communities has extended their deadline for applications for their open Executive Director position. They also have an open Community Organizer. Find out more information here

Nursing Students for Choice

MN Council of Nonprofits

CEED

Get Involved

Visit or join a Community Council committee! All are open to the community and new members. 
Land Use--First Thursday of the month 7-9pm 
Board of Directors--Second Thursday of the month 7-9pm 
Energy Resilience Group--Third Thursday 7-9pm (email erg@sapcc.org for location)
Transportation--First Monday of Every Month 6:30-8pm 

Environment--Fourth Wednesday of Every Month, 7-9pm

All committee meetings of the Community Council are an easy way for you to keep informed, get to know your neighbors and shape your neighborhood for the better. Committee meetings are held at the South St. Anthony Rec Center (890 Cromwell) unless otherwise noted. Community members are encouraged to join any committee- you become a member after attending only three meetings.

 

About Us

The St. Anthony Park Community Council is a non-profit citizen's organization of residents working together to maintain and enhance the quality of life, residential character, economic vitality, and physical development of St. Anthony Park. The Board meets monthly as do our three committees: Land Use, Transportation and Environment. Any resident may join the committees. The Board is elected with five delegates and two alternates each from North St. Anthony, South St. Anthony, and Business. Current Board members from North: Gary Carlson, Seth Levin, John Seppanen, Michael Russelle, Wanjiru Mugo, Mimi Jennings. From South:  Matt Hass, JoAnne Makela, Kathryn Murray. The business members are Ray Brian, Linda Hodge. Student Delegate: Alex Susko. Board Repair: Amanda Yang. 

 

Newsletter written by Cailin Rogers. Questions, comments, or suggestions? Email cailin@sapcc.org.