Shingle Creek Neighborhood Association

PO Box 15656

Minneapolis, MN 55415

Www.scna-mpls.org

Mpls.scna@gmail.com

PRESORT NONPROFIT

U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

TWIN CITIES,MN

PERMIT NO. 30918

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Many Thanks to this year’s

Tour de Camden sponsors:

Behind Bars

Camden Pet Hospital

North West Minneapolis

Business Association

Emily’s F&M Café

Lind Bohanon Neighborhood Association

Minneapolis Park and Recreation

Board/Creekview Park

Many thanks to: *The Aquatennial Royalty for joining us and

making the morning special!

*Cliff Swenson from MPRB for his presentation

on the improvements at Webber Pool.

*Shingle Creek Neighborhood Association for

hosting this year’s event and to volunteers:

Brock and Lori Hanson, Derek Hanson and

Karla Knudson, Lori Thayer, Jeff Strand, Steve

Kozicky, and Pam Owens for all of their efforts

and to all of the riders who joined us! It was the

best event yet!

Photographer and

rider Jeff Strand

Karla Knudson and

Pam Owens

Steve Kozicky

Lori Thayer and Aquatennial Royalty

Lori Hanson and Karla

Knudson Tour Coordinator Brock Han-

son and Behind Bars Mike

Derek Hanson

Creekview Park Ice Cream Social Connecting Community photos and article by Shingle Creek Resident Mary Scott

One hundred or more people turned out on a warm

Wednesday evening in July for a night of fun, food, and

community at the Creekview Park Ice Cream Social. The

annual event, sponsored by Creekview Park, was a

chance for the "neighborhood to come hang out and get

to know each other," according to Sara Richards, Director

of Creekview Park.

Residents enjoyed partaking of the hot dogs, potato

chips, and Dairy Queen sundaes offered while connecting

with neighbors and spending time with their families. A

number of activities kept the kids entertained for the

evening, including a water slide, moon walk, dancing,

face painting, balloons, and a hula hoop contest. Elmer

the Elm Tree, the official mascot of the Minneapolis Park

& Recreation Board's Forestry Department, stopped by to

offer handshakes, hugs, and photo opportunities to his

adoring fans.

Creekview Park has been hosting this summer social for

over 14 years. In addition to providing an affordable

event for all ages, Creekview Park employees have an

opportunity to connect with residents that they might not

otherwise meet. "We find this is a great way of getting

information out not only about Creekview but the Minnea-

polis Park Board as a whole, " said one Minneapolis Park

& Recreation Board employee. The event attempts to

incorporate many of the system wide opportu-

nities, including environmental, city wide

events, programming, and the Minneapolis

Institute of Arts.

Since Minneapolis recreation centers began

hosting ice cream socials, the board has seen

year round benefits for its residents. There

has been increased programming in the areas

of youth sports and summer programs. At

Creekview, the socials have also been a plat-

form to get residents involved in either their

block clubs or the Shingle Creek or Lind

Bohanon Neighborhood Associations. And "it's

been a great way to showcase the employees

of Creekview and how dedicated they are to

the community and serving the youth, adults

and seniors that utilize the park," said a state-

ment from the Minneapolis Park Board.

A big thank you to the Creekview Park staff for

another successful ice cream social! And

thank you to Dairy Queen for providing the ice

cream, and the Shingle Creek Neighborhood

Association for its financial support.

What Can SCNA Do to Support Renters,

Increase Engagement

and Foster Long-Term Investment in

the Community?

Outcomes from last month’s SCNA

renter’s forum:

What Issues are Important to

You as a Tenant?

Safety

Rent increases and utility increases

Getting the place fixed up

Having a nice place

Locks on windows, screens,

security doors

Honesty in a land lord

Healthy homes, free from mold

Knowing rights and responsibilities

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7!!

!

The Shingle Creek Elementary School Asset or

Ballfield?

When looking at our neighborhood and this

community as a whole, the Shingle Creek

Neighborhood Association continues to advocate

that the Shingle Creek Elementary School is a

community asset in an asset deprived

neighborhood.

In the short time SCNA’s had to review the

findings from Mr. Hanauer’s report, we wish to

highlight a few items that stand out. Under the

proposed changes: “The Minneapolis Public

Schools is proposing to demolish Shingle Creek

Elementary School; there are no plans for future

development at this time. In the interim, the site

would become green space as an extension of

the adjacent park.”

In 2007, when the school was closed, the

Shingle Creek Elementary School land+building

value was $1.6M-$2.6M. Today, on July 24,

2012, many residents are excited and abit

envious that during a depressed economy,

foreclosure epidemic, tornado damaged

community, historic decline in home values and

after preparing the building for demolition,

according to the HPC provided report, the

estimated market value of the vacant Shingle

Creek Elementary School building and land has

managed to jump marketedly to $6.9 million;

(the building was valued at $5.6 million and the

land at $1.3 million.17 City of Minneapolis

Property Information, 1101 Nicollet Mall,

Accessed April 2, 2012.)

University of Minnesota CURA research assistant

David Arbitt in 2008 outlined several possible

valuable asset reuses for the site that have yet

to be fully explored for this community asset.

Under findings #7 that the Shingle Creek

Elementary School “embodies the distinctive

characteristics of the cluster plan design, which

is the only school in Minneapolis designed in

this style (1958). When looking around the

country today, architecturally designed “pod”

schools are currently winning awards from

Connecticut to Oklahoma to Missouri.

Finally, under findings #4: Shingle Creek

Elementary School may be significant for its

social history. The elementary school played a

visible role with Minneapolis’ desegregation

efforts in the Minneapolis Public School (MPS)

system in the 1960s. This was a newly

uncovered point for residents.

In the late 1990’s, as part of a major

redevelopment effort by the city and county to

redevelop Humboldt Ave N in our neighborhood,

Carole Zellie produced a research document

entitled “The Shingle Creek African-American

Community, Minneapolis, MN” for Landscape

Research for Hennepin County Works

Minneapolis, MN, 1999. When the Humboldt

Greenway project removed nearly 100 homes for

its development, two of the remaining homes of

the Humboldt Greenway were eligible for

national listing in the National Register of

Historic Places at the time. Also one of two of

the first African American churches in Shingle

Creek, Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist church in

2008 celebrated its 85th Anniversary.

The July 24th the decision by the Minneapolis

Heritage Preservation Commissioners to deny

the demolition of Shingle Creek Elementary

School at 5000 Oliver Avenue North, establish

interim protection; and direct the Planning

Director to prepare or cause to be prepared a

designation study.” would allow a year and six

months if needed to prepare the study. The MPS

has ten days from the date of the hearing to

appeal.

For more details and to read the full report go to

our website at www.scna-mpls.org. Tell us what

you think about the Shingle Creek Elementary

School at our website or Facebook us at Shingle

Creek NA.