Vote draws frustration with North Side problems

Above: Council President Barb Johnson reacts to the Promise Zone presentation Wednesday morning.

The city's failure to alleviate some of the worst problems ailing north Minneapolis was the focus of a fiery City Council debate Wednesday morning over whether to apply for a new federal designation.

Some on the dais wondered what promises the city would be making by seeking that part of the North Side (below) become an Obama administration "Promise Zone" -- particularly when so many similar initiatives have already failed to produce results.

"Everyone wants to get together to change the outcomes, to move the ball, but then nothing actually happens," said council member Lisa Goodman during the council's committee of the whole meeting. "So it could end up just like that."

The city learned in 2013 that it was one of 33 communities in the country eligible to apply. The designation would improve the area's chances of receiving federal public safety and economic development grants, as well as provide technical support and volunteers from the federal government.

Council President Barb Johnson, who represents the northern half of north Minneapolis, said the city and its governmental partners seeking the designation have plenty they can fix without creating another layer of bureaucratic complexity. Her frustration echoed similar comments she made regarding this spring regarding a new racial equity plan.

"The Park Board is buying all kinds of land in Northeast," Johnson said. "They have bought no parcel in North Minneapolis. Minneapolis Public Housing Authority: They are over-concentrating Section 8 units in North Minneapolis. We [in north Minneapolis] have one seventh of the population of the city, we have a third of the Section 8 units."

She added that the city agreed a year ago to apply for a federal grant to add 10 extra police officers to focus on violent crime in north Minneapolis, but they still aren't on the street yet. Johnson also highlighted hundreds of vacant properties in north Minneapolis that are rotting while the city remains without a housing director.

"We are freaking dysfunctional in many, many places," Johnson said in an interview. "And we need to look at ourselves about what we do and what we're producing. And we're not."

Above: Deputy City Coordinator Jay Stroebel addresses the council's committee of the whole Wednesday.

Mayor Betsy Hodges joined the meeting to defend the application, saying the city is in a good position to get the designation because the federal government is interested having them in the Midwest.

"If we don't want to move forward with things in north Minneapolis because we've moved forward on so many things that haven't worked, that is an argument for doing nothing," Hodges said. "So I don't want us to do nothing. And I think this is a big something we could do that could have significant results with a lot of partners."

Hodges said the city has shown on issues like youth violence prevention, homelessness, climate change and transit that having a plan produces better results. "We know here at the city what happens if we come up with a plan," Hodges said.

The mayor also highlighted a meeting on the Promise Zone initiative that garnered more than 150 people, one of the largest such meetings in many years. Johnson countered that she would be surprised if more than 10 of them live in north Minneapolis.

"That's the problem," Johnson said. "There are a lot of people doing work in north Minneapolis, getting a paycheck, patting themselves on their back because they're doing the right thing. But it doesn't trickle down and the superstructure, the infrastructure does not represent that community."

Other council members, including Lisa Bender and Cam Gordon, came to the defense of the initiative. "I actually think it would be kind of irresponsible for us not to seek this," Gordon said.

The Promise Zone would run approximately from the Basset Creek Valley to Memorial Parkway, bounded by Queen Avenue and the Mississippi River. A staff report said the area includes half of the city's violent crime hotspots and 40 percent of its residents live in poverty.