March 4, 2022 | Friday

Know Your Como

As local as it gets: Como Lake Honey

By Jeanne Rogge Steele

Q: What is made out of plastic, filled to the brim with liquid gold, and looks like a friendly little bear with a rendition of the Como Pavilion glued to its chest?

A: An 8 ounce container of Como Lake Honey, the most local, raw honey around – produced by honeybees that live on a rooftop right across from the lake. The honey is Dean Anderson’s gift to the Como community which he and his family have called home for the past 22 years. 

“It’s all about the habitat,” says Anderson, who lives on Como Blvd. East between Rose and Maryland Ave. “Almost all of the nectar that goes into that honey comes from the trees, plants and flowers that grow around the lake and park, and in the gardens of Como neighbors.”

D10 Meeting Updates

Environment Committee Meeting - Tuesday, March 8, 7pm

The D10 Environment Committee typically meets on the second Tuesday of every month. Next week we will hear from St. Anthony Park's Transition ASAP, who have a number of environmental programs and initiatives. We will also discuss the 2022 Como Lake Clean-up planning and other regular committee updates.

The March Land Use Committee meeting, typically held the first Wednesday of each month, is going to be held on Monday, March 14 at 7pm because of a scheduling conflict. Check back for meeting agendas as the meeting gets closer!

All D10 Como Park meetings are open to the public and have space for community members to bring topics for discussion.

Get Involved: Join The Board In April

The Como Community Council is a great opportunity to get involved with your neighbors and learn more about what's going on in the community: Eight seats on our board are up for election in April.

Board seats up for election in April:

• One representative each from the neighborhood's FOUR sub-districts (map)
• Two representatives from the neighborhood at-large
• One representative from the neighborhood at-large who is a renter
• One representative from the neighborhood at-large who is a youth (age 16-24)

To get on the ballot, submit a board member application.

The filing deadline is Sunday April 3. The election is April 19. If you have any questions or would like to know more about being a board member you can reach out to D10 Como Park at district10@district10comopark.org.

Request a Ballot

Ballots for the April election can now be requested on our election page as well (ballots won't be made available until after the candidate filing period has passed).

Get Involved: Celebrate Spring! Event April 30 at North Dale Rec

Come to the Celebrate Spring event on April 30th from 10:30-Noon at the North Dale Rec Center (1414 N. St. Albans). The Como Community Council is partnering with Parks and Recreation for a morning of fun that any outdoor enthusiast (even the smallest) can enjoy. There's something for everyone - a garden/outdoor themed resource fair, kids crafts and seed planting, light refreshments, and a gently used clothing drive to help kick off your spring cleaning goals.

If your organization has a nature theme and would like to table at this event, contact organizer@district10comopark.org. Sign up to volunteer for this event or donate to support events like this one on our website.

The First Conny's of Spring!

The sweetest place in the neighborhood, Conny's Creamy Cone (1197 Dale St. N), is planning to open for the season on Saturday, March 12.

Please direct your predictions for their first "Dip of the Week" to D10 Board Member Ben Kowalsky-Grahek.

Food Collection event at Como Park Lutheran on March 20

Como Park Lutheran Church (1376 Hoyt Ave W.) will be hosting a Food Collection on Sunday, March 20, Noon-2pm.

With rising costs at grocery stores and gas pumps, food shelves are critical to helping families stretch their limited budgets. You can help by donating non-perishable food items –OR– give a cash/check donation. All donations will go to Keystone Community Services. Their goal is 1,500 lbs. of food.

Needed Items:

• Ramen
• Pop-top soups & microwavable meals (for people experiencing homelessness)
• Cereal
• Granola Bars (high protein varieties)
• Pasta
• Oil
• Peanut Butter
• Diapers
• Cash/Check (payable to Keystone Community Services)
• 
  

Drive by and drop off your donations at Como Park Lutheran Church's parking lot located at the intersection of Hoyt and Hamline.

The previously reported MARCH 5 Keystone Food Distribution Event in Roseville has been CANCELLED due to the weather forecast.

Como Parks & Rec

North Dale Rec Center (1414 N. St. Albans)

• Magical Pink Unicorn Art ages 4-7 - Sat, Apr 2 - $30*
• Celebrate Spring Event - Sat, April 30, 10:30am-Noon - Free
• Pickleball Lessons Intermediate - Tuesdays starting May 3, 1-2pm - $40*
• Teen Open Dance ages 13-18 - Mondays thru May 2, 6:30-8pm - Free
• Senior Gamers (ages 50+) - Tuesdays thru May 31, Noon-2pm - Free
• Social Needle Work Time ages 18+ - 2nd Thursdays thru May 12 - Free
• Teen Video Game Night ages 12-18 - Wednesdays thru May 25 - Free
• Senior Fitness ages 50+ - Tues & Thurs thru May 31, 9:30-10:30am - Free
• Senior Day ages 50+ - Thursdays thru May 26, 10am-2pm - Free

Northwest Como Rec Center (1550 N. Hamline)

• Floor Hockey ages 8-12 - Fridays March 4-April 1 (Not March 18)- Free
• Red Ballers Tennis ages 8-11 - Week of March 15, Tue-Fri, 3:45-4:45 - Free
• April Fools Day Art ages 4-10 - March 25 - $30*
• Conquer Ninja Field Trip ages 7-15 - Mon, Apr 4 - $24*
• Bowling at Flaherty's Field Trip ages 7-12 - Tue, Apr 5 - $20*
• Artist Workshop Spring ages 7-15 - Tuesdays beginning Apr 12 - $60*
• Red Cross Babysitting Training ages 11-18 - Friday, April 15, 9:30am-3:30pm - $60*
• Parents Night Out ages 6-11 - April 22, 6-9pm - $10*
• Basic Fishing Fundamentals ages 7-12 - Week of April 25 - $25*

*Registration Required

Become a Music in the Parks Performer: Music in the Parks is an outdoor music series taking place in Saint Paul's beautiful parks, including Como Zoo & Conservatory and Como Pavilion, during the summer months. We are now seeking performers for the 2022 season. Visit the Music in the Parks webpage for details on how to apply.

Summer Sports Registration began March 1: Early bird discounts. Register before Sunday to save. More Info.

St. Paul Parks & Rec Fee Assistance Program

The City of Saint Paul operates a special program that helps families pay for Parks & Recreation youth classes and activities. Fee Assistance can be requested by families who meet program requirements when registering for youth activities. To be eligible for the program, youth must live in Saint Paul, be 18 years old or younger, and qualify for free and reduced lunches.

Fee Assistance can be used toward most recreational sports or activities offered by Saint Paul Parks and Recreation. To view the online catalog of all available activities offered, click here.

Note: Although adult programs are also listed, they do not qualify for Fee Assistance credits.

1-4 Unit Housing Study Survey

Have you heard about the City of Saint Paul's 1-4 Unit Housing Study?

The City's Planning and Economic Development (PED) department study is evaluating additional zoning flexibility to support greater housing diversity across the city. This includes looking at the potential to allow duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes in more places as well as more types of single-family homes, such as cluster developments, townhomes, and accessory dwelling units (ADUs).

They'd like hear from community members in a new online survey.

This is your chance to provide input on housing types, where they should be allowed, and possible policy changes to allow more housing. They are hoping to hear from as many residents and stakeholders as possible as part of the community engagement phase of the project.

Learn more about the study

Visit the engagement website for information sheets on neighborhood-scale housing, how the City can add more housing, and housing development considerations. Visit the project website for project background, FAQs, and official memos on the study.

Questions?

Contact 1to4HousingStudy@ci.stpaul.mn.us or City Planner Emma Siegworth at 651-266-6657 with any follow-up questions.

D10 Como Park co-hosted an engagement session with PED and neighboring district councils on February 10. You can view the recording of that session here on the D10 website.

Public Hearing for St. Paul Redistricting March 11 at Rondo Library

The Saint Paul Charter Commission is in the process of redrawing ward boundaries based on the 2020 Census and the State's new legislative and congressional boundaries (called "redistricting"). 

A public hearing is planned for 3pm on March 11, at Rondo Library, to get feedback from the public on potential boundary changes. The Charter Commission is working with a consultant to draw proposed maps based on standards that were adopted by the Saint Paul City Council. Proposed maps will be available early in that week of the 11th (Hopefully by March 8 or 9). The maps will be posted on the redistricting page on the City's website.  

Wards 2, 6 and 7 had the largest increases in population, so those three wards are going to need to decrease in size (geographic area) in order to make all of the wards approximately equal in population. So if you look at the current ward map, wards 3 and 4 are going to increase somewhat, which will cause wards 1, 2 and 5 to shift slightly to the east, and wards 2, 6 and 7 will also decrease in size. 

Are there issues with the current boundaries that could be addressed? Are there problems that could be caused by changing the boundaries, and that they should seek to avoid?

A particular challenge that has been discussed by the Charter Commission is how potential boundary changes would affect #3 (e) in the City's redistricting standards:

• Communities of Interest. The location of ward boundaries should attempt to preserve neighborhoods where they exist; recognize new and emerging neighborhoods resulting from development, population growth or demographic changes; and encompass other significant communities of interest in the city, including voters sharing similar social, economic and cultural affinities or characteristics, where it is practicable to do so.   

In other words, if some current residents were to be moved into a different ward, are there communities of interest that could be divided? 

For questions or feedback about potential changes to ward boundaries, please send an email to CharterCommission@ci.stpaul.mn.us

St. Paul 2022 Capital Improvement Budget Planning

The city uses the Capital Improvement Budget (CIB) to fund the construction of maintenance of City infrastructure - streets, bridges, libraries, parks, rec centers, and other public facilities. The budget is composed of a variety of funding sources.

CIB functions on a two-year cycle. In odd calendar years, projects are planned and proposed by city departments based on their five-year plans. In even years, like 2022, the city recruits applications from the community for consideration by the CIB Committee. Selected ideas are incorporated into the following year's budget (usually proposed in mid-August). This year's CIB project priorities are ideas that incorporate Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED).

We're currently in the project development cycle, which includes the following key dates:

• City begins accepting full applications for CIB project proposals – February 28
• Deadline for submitting full applications – March 25
• Departments provide cost estimates for submitted projects – April 11