[DMNA] Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association - 2007 Annual Meeting Summary

[Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association (DMNA) Email List]

Good Afternoon DMNA Supporters:

The Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association Board of
Directors would like to thank everyone who attended the
organization’s annual meeting on Tuesday, November 13, at
the Crown Roller Mill.  We had excellent neighborhood
turnout, no doubt due to the quality of this year’s guest
speakers, whom we would like to especially thank for their
participation.  We extend a cordial thanks to:  Mayor R.T.
Rybak, Inspector Janee Harteau, Lieutenants Glampe and
Waite, Crime Prevention Specialist Luther Krueger, CPED
Director Mike Christenson, Downtown Journal Editor Sarah
McKenzie, and board directors Tom Hoch, Kim Motes, and Scott
Parkin.  

Thank you also to the local elected officials who attended
this year’s event:  Senator Scott Dibble, Representative
Willie Dominguez, and Councilmember Lisa Goodman.  

For those of you who were unable to attend the annual
meeting, we would like to take this opportunity to highlight
just a few of the Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood
Association’s 2007 accomplishments:

Under Arts, Culture and Education 

·  Reaffirmed $25,000 financial commitment for the
Minneapolis Planetarium

Under Crime and Safety 

·  Awarded $10,000 to Restorative Justice Community
Action, Inc., to continue to provide  restorative justice
services to the downtown community
·  Contributed $1,700 to the downtown Minneapolis’
National Night Out celebration held annually in August
·  Provided letter of support to Audubon Minnesota for its
“Lights Out” initiative to prevent window collisions by
migratory birds passing over the brightly lit downtown
skyscrapers
·  Crime and Safety Committee Chair Tom Hoch continues to
be an active participant in keeping downtown Minneapolis a
healthy and safe place to live through efforts such as:
     oThe Downtown Minneapolis SafeZone Collaborative
     oThe Keep Minneapolis Beautiful project

Under Downtown Development 

·  Reviewed numerous land use items, including variance
requests, conditional use permits, site plan reviews, liquor
license applications, and provided recommendations to City
staff and elected officials
·  Contributed $10,000 toward the Walking Minneapolis
project
·  Participated in the Metrodome District Design
Roundtable discussions
·  Commissioned Sassafrass Design to develop a branding
campaign for the DMNA including both logo and website
redesign
·  Developed partnership with the R&R Social Club to
cross-market events and activities in the downtown community

We would like to announce and congratulate the 2007-2009
board directors:  returning board members Andy Hauer and
Scott Parkin, and newly-elected board member Natasha Heimer.
 We look forward to working with you in 2008.  And thanks to
the League of Women Voters volunteers, Paul Kelly and Pat
Werner, for helping facilitate the election process.  

We would also like to acknowledge retiring board members
Cynthia Newsom and Tom Hoch.  Cynthia has been on the DMNA
board for the past 2 years, during which time she served as
treasurer.  She has been an active board member taking part
in Land Use Committee and NRP Implementation Committee
meetings.  She has been a great advocate for people living
in the Downtown East neighborhood.  Thank you, Cynthia!

Tom Hoch has been on the board since November 2001, during
which time he has served as vice chair and chair.  Tom has
been a tireless volunteer on behalf of the downtown
community.  His work on crime and safety issues, as well as
on projects that have helped improve Hennepin Avenue is
second to none.  We will miss Tom’s involvement on the
board, but look forward to him continuing in his role as
chair of the organization’s Crime and Safety Committee. 
Thank you, Tom!

We would also like to recognize and thank Paul Barber.  Paul
was one of the founding members of the Downtown Minneapolis
Residents Association (the predecessor organization to the
DMNA) who has remained a neighborhood volunteer and the DMNA
webmaster for the past decade.  His selfless and tireless
service to the DMNA has enabled the organization to be an
effective advocate for all who live and work in the downtown
community.  Paul is stepping down from his role as webmaster
in 2008.  We will miss his knowledge and experience
tremendously.  Thank you Paul!

Last but not least, we would also like to extend an
enthusiastic thanks to our DMNA Coordinator Christie Rock
for her continued high-quality efforts on behalf of the
organization.

Again, thanks to all of you who participated in the annual
meeting.  We look forward to seeing you at our board and
committee meetings throughout 2008.

Sincerely,

Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association
Board of Directors