From 'Art Park' to 'Heritage Park'...
Or is it a park at all?
I may be presumptive in my thinking, but to qualify for CDBG funding, a project must meet certain criteria. According to the Federal guidelines, which can be found here. After reading these guidelines, which are apparently open to interpretation, I cannot find a reasonable qualification for the use of these funds to pay for this land for this purpose. Perhaps you can assist with suggestions...
A search of the web for the Heritage Park Project in District 5 yielded me not much more than links to local City Council meetings and minutes, and local Planning Council meeting Agendas. One such agenda, which can be found on the Payne Phalen District 5 website at www.paynephalen.org for the meeting of the Community Planning and Economic Development Committee, was a direct result of a Google search for the Heritage Park Project,. however, no such project is listed in the agenda. After perusing the agenda, I saw something that caught my eye. While there is no reference to the Heritage Park Project, there is a line item for the Greenbrier Bicycle Bouilevard. While I had never heard of this project, the parcel of land that was given to parks and rec so generously by HRA to be used for the Heritage Park Project just happened to be at the corner of Wells Street and Greenbrier.
Further investegation gave me the following documents:
Project Title: - Greenbrier Bicycle Boulevard
Proposing Agency or Group: - Payne Phalen District Five Planning Council
Proposer's Address: - 506 Kenny Road, Suite 130 Saint Paul, MN 55130
Contact Person: - Leslie McMurray
Phone Number: - 651-774-5234
Email Address: - d5-director@visi.com
Address or Cross Streets of Proposed Project: - Greenbrier Avenue linking Aguirre
Street, Payne Avenue, Wells and Maryland Avenue
Page 39 describes in detail the proposed use of the above named property not for parkland, but for an expansion of the city's bicycle trail system that connects "Eastside destinations and the new Aguirre
St. connection to the Bruce Vento Regional Trail corridor" (2014-2015 Streets & Utilities Propsals).
and...
Which shows the following financial information for the project:
Well now... I see a construction project here that does not end until 2015. Interesting...
It seems that there is some ambiguity with the intended use of this particular parcel of property. Perhaps some transparency is called for. I don't understand. Is Heritage Park Project the real project? Is the Greenbrier Bike Boulevard the real project? Is on a child project of another? Why does it not state that anywhere? And just how does all of this relate to the property next to this, the property that is discussed in my last blog? The property that is home to the artist of 'Art Park'.
Interestingly, we have legal access to rear of our property at 676 Wells St in the alley (known as Greenbrier) which just happens to be in conflict with the Greenbrier Bike Blvd. Of course, we are completely willing to work out some kind of compromise if this is a conflict with this plan. :-)
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