Minneapolis readies application for federal help to boost city's poorest

Minneapolis officials are embarking on a massive effort to land federal help for some of the city's poorest neighborhoods, making a high-stakes commitment to create major change in struggling areas of the city.

"We're not going to spend all our time talking about what's wrong," Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges told a crowd last month. "We're going to spend our time talking about what's right, and what our strengths are and how we're going to use those together to move ourselves forward."

The new mayor is wagering a lot of political capital on the Promise Zone application being submitted Friday, as she tries to ignite an economic renaissance in the city's North Side. But the plan is already facing significant criticism from deeply skeptical council members and community leaders. They worry the Promise Zone is just the latest in the long list of initiatives and collaborations that have either failed to deliver or are already doing similar work.

"Too many times … promises have been made where outcomes have not changed," Council Member Lisa Goodman said recently. "This isn't about not wanting to do something. It's about becoming frustrated with not having [a] change in outcomes."

The city's more than 150-page application includes a list of goals and lengthy descriptions about the organizations and efforts that are linked to the Promise Zone. The goals are big: reduce racial inequalities, reduce serious and violent crime, improve educational opportunities, among others. Some of the strategies are specific, like expanding existing violence prevention and job training programs to a wider range of age groups or to more young people. Others are a bit more tough to translate: "Support and expand creative place-making in the Minneapolis Promise Zone to augment community identity and voice."

The total financial investment of Minneapolis participants is still unclear.

A draft application provided by the mayor's office shows the city expects to spend $250,000 next year — and between $1.5 million and $2 million over the next five years — to fund a new Office of Equitable Outcomes within the city coordinator's office. The two new staff members who will account for much of those costs will have other tasks related to equity but will also be charged with handling Promise Zone coordination duties.

The effort to help struggling urban, rural and tribal areas debuted last year. It offers a handful of volunteers, a federal liaison, preferential treatment in grant applications and, pending Congressional approval, special tax incentives. It does not provide direct financial assistance.

Minneapolis applied for the designation last year, but was not one of the five communities selected.

This time, the city doubled down on its effort. It tweaked the proposed zone's boundaries. They are now the Mississippi River to the east, the Bassett Creek Valley to the south, Queen Avenue to the west and Memorial Parkway to the north, an area that's home to more than 38,500 people.

Hodges, who has been a public face of another White House initiative, the My Brother's Keeper program, has made the Promise Zone a central goal. In a short meeting with President Obama last year, she made sure to make note of the city's application. After Minneapolis lost out in that round, she decided to convene an even larger group of people to help craft this year's proposal.

"As far as I can tell, that's one of the biggest gatherings that has happened in many years, if ever, on behalf of taking action, on behalf of the North Side," Hodges said this week. "That's significant in and of itself, that people are coming together to create a plan to align resources as well as intentions."

The more than 150 people gathered in the gym were to come up with a pitch to the White House: Here's why a section of north Minneapolis, long challenged by poverty, crime, and high dropout rates, should get a special federal designation that could help funnel in money and outside help. Here's how we plan to make this place better.

At the meeting, the people invited broke into four small groups, where they spent hours hashing through the needs and goals of the area in a particular area: training and jobs, stable housing, safe and healthy neighborhoods and educational opportunities.

As the conversation wore on, one of the North Side high school students in the room tentatively raised her hand, offering a criticism that would later be echoed, in a way, by Goodman and Council President Barb Johnson. The two abstained from voting on the application when it reached the council; the rest of the council unanimously approved the plan.

The student said she didn't want to be rude, especially in front of adults, but it seemed like everyone in the room was not directly addressing the issues she faces every day at school and at home in north Minneapolis.

"I feel like: 'Why are we not talking?' " she said. "Let's say the problems, let's talk about how this and that is going on. Can we, like, interact?"

Sondra Samuels, a longtime north Minneapolis resident and president of the Northside Achievement Zone, an education-focused group, said she supports the Promise Zone plan but also can't argue with the criticism. Still, she sees this as a chance to add legitimacy and focus to current efforts.

"There's cynicism on the part of elected officials, on the part of my neighbors, on the part of families we've partnered with," Samuels said. "But in light of that, you don't give up. You press forward, you double down on your commitments. And the difference I think will happen this time is a real focus on results and accountability of results."

Whether or not Minneapolis gets the nod from the White House, city officials say they're committed to carrying out the plans they dreamed up at North High School.

Tawanna Black, executive director for the Northside Funders Group, said that's a big reason her group chose to get involved.