DPPA forum shows workings of city commissions By Andrew Slade, DPPA board member DPPA hosted the forum "Duluth Commissions: Bridging Citizens and Government" last June 3. A great turnout of 40 people and five panel members filled the Duluth Public Library's Green Room with experiences, ideas and reflections on how city commissions engage citizens in the governance of Duluth. The panel members were all supportive of the commission process. They reflected on the long hours and the occasional public pressures and mis-perceptions. Looking back on the forum, the following points seem to emerge: Help wanted City commissions work because their members work. DPPA distributed applications for open commission seats and encouraged folks to sign up. The city doesn't necessarily come to you to invite you in. Panel members said they gave between four and twenty hours a week to their volunteer commission work. Advice needed Though most of the commissions are purely advisory in their relation with the city, that advice is generally heeded. As panelist Frank Jewell from the housing commission explained, if the commission votes against a proposal, it is likely to get a poor reception in the city administration. Politics as usual? One unresolved topic was the extent to which the city's strong mayor system allows the mayor to "stack" commissions. Applications are screened and evaluated by an advisory committee to the mayor. The mayor makes appointments, which are then reviewed and approved by the city council. Some people feel left out of this process, contending their applications to serve were never accepted. Most panel members felt that the process was fair and open, only getting political in the case of the Planning Commission. Thanks to all the panelists and to the audience for a great forum. And thanks again to AFSCME for its sponsorship. Panelists from left to right, C.J. Bird, Carol Thomson, Frank Jewell, Meg Bye, Eric Kaiser. Panelists: C.J. Bird, American Indian Commission Meg Bye, Human Rights Commission Frank Jewell, Housing Commission Eric Kaiser, Spirit Mountain Authority Carol Thomson, Planning Commission Planning Commission still not Open Government By Tom Hollenhorst, DPPA member Editors note: A few months ago Councilor Stover put forward a resolution to require the Planning Commission to meet in the evening, when more people could attend. DPPA supported this resolution. The Planning Commission cried foul, saying that they should have been included in the development of this resolution, it wasn't fair to ask that of their members, and besides, whenever anything was of public interest, they hold meetings in the evening in any case. From the below, it appears the inaccessibility of the Planning Commission to the general public continues. At the time of writing (9-14-03) the most recent Planning commission minutes available on the City website were from 6-25-03, with the minutes from five subsequent meetings prior to 8-28-03 unavailable. Councilors, Last Tuesday (9-9-03) I wasted half of my day at the 9:00am Planning Commission meeting. Based on this experience, I doubt I will bother to do that again. I went there to express some concerns our neighborhood-planning district 7 has had with the proposed Lakewalk Townhomes development. I heard right away that the city council, the night before, had unanimously requested the Planning Commission to table this issue until it could be discussed at an evening meeting. I expect you requested this so that the public could be more involved, and have an opportunity to express their concerns. It would have been nice if they would have followed your wishes and done this right away. Remember the Planning Commission had assured you they would hold evening meetings for more controversial projects, instead they waded through all the other items on their agenda, and then decided to hear from the few remaining citizens who would like to address this development. This was after they learned that many who had signed up to speak had to leave to return to work. This included several members of our district, including the chair of NDP 7. At this point the commissioners seemed to want to reassure themselves that they had heard from everyone. They continued to do this despite comments made by myself and others that several individuals had to leave, couldn't make a 9:00 am meeting, and that this was the first day any of this had been in the paper and many citizens of Duluth simply are not at all aware of this project. I am quite certain the planning commission had heard only a small portion of our concerns regarding this project and would have heard a lot more at an evening meeting. Councilors, I sincerely hope you will soon reconsider requiring the Planning Commission to meet at an hour when more regular citizens can make these meetings. I've been continually frustrated about how hard it is to determine what will occur at these meetings, or what has already occurred. The minutes and agendas available on the city website for the Planning Commission meetings are chronically out of date, with the most recent meeting minutes only from June 25, at least 3 or 4 meetings behind. Imagine if you're a citizen try to determine what occurred at the last meeting, and if that means you need to attend the next, and then you realize it's a 9:00 am meeting. Good luck getting there. This works good for developers but it does not work at all for citizens. When you consider this behavior, especially after your request to hold an evening meeting, and the fact that the minutes and agendas are rarely posted in a timely manner, you could begin to argue they are in violation of open meeting laws. I would like to make the following suggestions to help make the planning commission's work more accessible to the public. 1. Require the PC to Hold an evening meeting at least once a month. 2. Broadcast meetings on Pact TV. a. If this is not possible record the meetings and make audio copies available on the cities website. (It's really not that hard to do this, the technology is there) 3. Require the Planning Commission agendas to be posted at a minimum 3 days before meetings, and require the meeting minutes to be posted within 2-3 days after the next meeting in which they minutes are approved. Having volunteered on other city boards, I appreciate the effort required to serve on such a commission, but couldn't we work to make this important commission just a bit more accessible to the public? Thanks for your consideration. Sincerely, Tom Hollenhorst Counter point The chairman of the Planning Commission responded in an email to the council dismissing these claims. He cited a previous evening meeting earlier in the process, and a belief that people have had adequate notice of this development. In response to Vigen's response, Hollenhorst said simply "The planning commission didn't hear from the chair of Neighborhood Planning District 7 because he had to leave to go to work." Consistently surprised by development By Terry Brown, DPPA board member. A recent Council meeting emphasized the problem of public involvement in development of land in Duluth. At issue was the "Riverside Hills" condominium development in West Duluth. A neighbor of the development brought many concerns related to the development, construction on the site and its impact of nearby dwellings. On one hand, the developers, reminded the Council that they have attended numerous meetings with the Planning Commission and the Duluth Economic Development Authority (DEDA). On the other hand, the neighbor said she had only become involved in the issue a week ago and seemed to feel that the proposal had been sprung upon her fully formed and without opportunity for her concerns to be considered. This situation seems to be repeated in almost all developments. The Lester Park Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) subdivision, the Lakewalk extension, and the Endion Ledges development are other recent examples. Neither neighbors or developers are served by this cycle of surprise and consequent suspicion. Some City officials argue that the information is available in published agendas and minutes, and presented in open meetings, and that it's the responsibility of the public to dig it out if they're interested. Clearly, these mechanisms aren't working. It is unrealistic to expect everybody living in Duluth to monitor the agendas of all the different City agencies which can impact their lives. There must be a better way to involve people in the process. The media, the City, and neighborhoods need to work together on this problem. Developers might save themselves some conflict if they tried to engage the local community earlier. Our elected officials, unelected officials and media need to hear that people want more involvement in developments that change the nature of their home town. Make sure they hear your ideas. One to watch... You may not have heard, but there are plans to develop condominiums around 21st Ave. E on Water Street west of the Endion Ledges area, where there's currently a garden center. So far it sounds as if the City will secure an easement to keep the Lakewalk between the Lake and condos, which is a good thing. Being by the Lake is part of what defines Duluth, and if the general public is increasingly isolated from the Lake, that part of Duluth's character is eroded. These kinds of changes should involve the community as a whole. DPPA honors Nancy Nelson with tree planting ceremony. When you get the chance, visit the northern pin oak now gracing the eastern end of Lakeplace Park. The tree was planted to mark Nancy's receiving a DPPA Civic Activist award, and dedicated in a ceremony on August 28. The turnout was good and the weather perfect, with early showers clearing to fresh sunshine before the group gathered. Widely known for her work engaging public participation in the Spirit Mountain planning process, Nancy's persistence, attention to detail and holistic approach to this issue have set the standard for civic involvement in Duluth. Nancy has taught many many people, herself included no doubt, a great deal about the process of public interaction with the government of Duluth. This theme of leading and teaching by example is common to many of the things Nancy has done. In typical Nancy style, she asked that people visiting the tree not think of her, but of the unique forest resources we have in Duluth, and what we need to do to protect and appreciate them. A crowd looks on while DPPA president Terry Brown introduces Nancy Nelson. Bill Hardesty and DPPA present digital camera to NHS When Bill Hardesty received one of DPPA's annual Civic Activist awards, he asked that the award be marked by presenting a digital camera to Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS). Bill has a long history with advocacy groups such as NHS (see April 2003 Common Sense). He asked NHS what they needed to help them do their work, and DPPA was happy to oblige. Nikon digital camera presented to NHS 7-28-03. Left to right, Marsh Stenersen, DPPA board member, Bill Hardesty, and George Garnet, Executive Director of NHS. These articles are retained on the web for historical interest and do not necessarily reflect the views or goals of DPPA today.