(00:00:10) Good morning, and welcome to midday and Minnesota Public Radio. I'm Gary eichten glad you could join us Minneapolis. Mayor Sharon Sales. Belton says there should be no need to increase property tax rates in the city. Next year. Most people will end up paying more in property tax next year since most homes have increased in value. But the mayor says the city should be able to hold the line on the actual tax rate in Minneapolis mayor cells belt and also says she wants to cut overall City Department spending by 3% This wild doubling the amount the city spends on low-income housing programs. Mayor Sharon Sales Belton is come by our Studios today to talk about her budget plans and many of the other big issues facing the city and we invite you to join our conversation great opportunity to talk to the mayor and if you have a question or comment give us a call here six five. Two two seven six thousand 6512276 thousand outside the Twin Cities. You can reach us toll-free at 1-800-222-8477 6,000 or 1-800 to for to 288 Our Guest this our Minneapolis. Mayor Sharon Sales Belton mayor. Thanks for coming in today. (00:01:20) Let's my pleasure to be with you (00:01:22) Gary. You don't have your cast you fell off the bike back in June and you've been walking around with a cast. I understand but it's you look (00:01:30) good. Thank you so much. And can you use the hand? Well, I can use the hand. It's like the arm. That's really giving me some trouble here. I'm going to start therapy in a couple of days and in no time. I'll be 100% (00:01:43) Yeah, overall. It seems like the City of Minneapolis has perking right along conditions appear to be quite good in the city. What do you see though as the biggest challenge facing the opposite this (00:01:57) one? Well first, I think it's right to acknowledge the things Going well. We're pleased that they've got a serious a drop in crime about the 24% and last 18 months. That's good news. We've got a property values increasing across the city. We've got a booming economy in the downtown billion dollars worth of Investments are going on brand new residential neighborhood in the downtown community along the riverfront. So things are going well. I think the challenges of that we have to face number one garrier is that our children are still not thriving as much as we'd like to see them Thrive they're doing well. They're doing better in school. The juvenile crime rate is you know, still causes some concern on our part. So we got to do a better job of making sure that our kids are on a positive path and then secondly a bigger issue that we've been debating and City Hall for several weeks. Now, it's a crisis with regard to affordable housing. So these are the two things that we're going to continue to struggle through over the next several weeks and months. (00:03:00) Now I noted that the tax rate under your proposal won't be going up. But tax collections will go up substantially because of the increase in home values. Why not cut the property tax rate so that people won't have to pay any more. (00:03:15) Well, one of the things that we have to acknowledge in the City of Minneapolis has over the past several years in response to a crime a problem in a crime Trend. We added a number of police officers who are Force we got some money from the federal government to offset. The immediate costs associated with hiring those individuals. We've been paying that money back or we've been assuming of the cost of those officers are self out of our own resources that cost money this year. It's 1.5 million dollars so that we will assume the full cost of the Clinton cops that we got years ago. Again, it was a good investment abroad helped us to bring the crime rate down. Secondly many episode. The council members have been asking for and the citizens have been demanding improvements in the infrastructure that Roads, the bridges the king things that keep Commerce moving in the the city through our neighborhoods and in the downtown. Well the city council in response to it. Okay, we're going to put more resources in infrastructure. We're going to ensure we got high water quality and we're going to make sure we got good roads and bridges remember last year all the conversations and the years ago about potholes and in Minneapolis is streets. Well, we have enhanced the infrastructure investment and again to do that it cost money. So this budget the acknowledges the fact that we have jump-started our cost as it relates to Public Safety and infrastructure and at some point you got to pay that bill. Well as I said to the city council yesterday in the citizens who came up to my budget framework addressed credit card payments are due until we've got to start doing it and why not do it now again when we've had growth in their economy growth in the value of properties in the city, we've got to do take some serious and responsible actions in order to Keep Pace with our appetite for a high quality of life. (00:05:03) I don't want to get into a deep conversation here about how the property tax system (00:05:08) works. Okay, I'm not (00:05:12) courageous enough, but I do have to ask you this, you know, you keep hearing about people if they're not taxed out of their homes, they're really strapped because although the value of their home goes up dramatically and as a consequence of property tax grows their income may not at all. Keep Pace. Do you think long-term cities need to take a another? Look at how how they fund their operations? Is there some big change that we need to think about long-term. (00:05:43) You know Gary, I'm really glad that you asked that question and I appreciate the fact that we won't sit here and debate tax capacity versus Net Levi because will board the people who are listening not everybody but some of them the bottom line is that people really are concerned about property. Taxes and in the City of Minneapolis, we have very few methods or ways of being able to increase our Revenue property taxes as one and of course fees and for our service our another so there's only so much room there. And otherwise people are going again just as you said feel like they're being taxed out of their home or charge so much or too too much or to be able to engage in their in their business and that doesn't work either. So one of the things that we talked about yesterday to the taxpayers is that you know, the state of Minnesota has all these diverse Revenue sources, they've got sales tax. They've got income tax. I got a lot of other things are more diverse to revenue Source. We need that in the city now to the governor's that credit. He has put together. I think a committee that's going to be re-examining the tax system in the state of Minnesota. He's not the first governor to do that. But we really welcome the fact that he's taking this discussion on again. He's got an 18 month of That has been commissioned to do all this analysis. Well, we have people who are again monitoring that community and going to try to provide a good information to it so that they take into consideration the fact that municipalities in the state of Minnesota have to work too. And in order to again meet the needs of our citizens. We need to have some Revenue sources that are not just the focused on the property tax. So we're going to work. Well we think of with this a committee and hopefully get some recommendations that will work for Minneapolis st. Paul Minnetonka and everybody else across the great (00:07:34) state and help us. Mayor Sharon Sales. Belton is our guest this hour and if you have a question for the mayor give us a call six five one two, two seven six thousand 6512276 thousand if you're calling from outside the Twin Cities 1-800 to for 228284 Scholars from Mossy Oak Alley. Good morning, Gary and good morning to you. Mayor. Good morning. How are you? I'm doing pretty good and sounds like you're doing All (00:08:00) yourself well in good (00:08:02) health and good health and that's about all we can ask for and we'll take it from there. But I do have a question about middle class housing this morning see lot of emphasis being put on, you know, providing housing for low-income residents. Hopefully we can get more of them into homeownership situations. But what is the city doing now or planning to do to attract more middle-class families to move into the city preferably from the suburbs maybe from rural areas those who maybe don't want to live in the some of the more rundown neighborhoods and can't afford necessarily to live right downtown or around the city Lakes. (00:08:49) Great question. And again, what I want you to know is that there are many people who are moving in from the suburbs into a downtown because they want to be closer to the cultural amenities and also the natural amenities that we find in the City, Mississippi River the lakes and so not everybody can afford those $175,000 apartments or or Condominiums, but we are pleased that the City of Minneapolis seems to be doing some things right and people are coming back to the city. The other thing that I want you to know that we're doing in Minneapolis is through a wonderful least successful program at least in my opinion called the neighborhood revitalization program. We're using a city a revenue or to strengthen and stabilize of the other neighborhoods are throughout the City of Minneapolis and providing loans and grants and other tools are two homeowners to upgrade their homes and it's making the neighborhoods more attractive and desirable to other people. Otherwise wouldn't have thought they were great places to live. I want you to know that middle of class are people in the City of Minneapolis are taking advantage of these loan and Grant programs and we are seeing property values increase across the entire city. That's good news. I think the challenge that we have in the City of Minneapolis is building more houses so that they're more choices are for families along a Continuum of affordability Continuum. That's how I'll describe that and so we think a good the good news in Minneapolis is that we've got I don't know through the McD a about 950 vacant lots. And what I asked the McD a to do is to focus on bringing those slots online. Some of them will be affordable to middle-class families. Some will be affordable to people with incomes of that would constitute low incomes. The truth of the matter is that Minneapolis has a hot housing market for everybody. And what we want to do is to attract families to our city home ownership is our number one agenda and we want to help people who are now low income low income moved to middle-class status. So we've got a comprehensive strategy caller to help us address. All of these issues long answer complicated issue. But again, I think the City of Minneapolis is doing the right (00:11:11) things Charles your question, please yeah. Thanks. First of all, I'd like to say thanks for the uh, the New Roads. Yeah. It's a bike rider. I really appreciate the tension or pain for us bike riders with the bike lanes. And also I'd like to ask could you update us on what's going on with the Sears Tower on Lake Street and also the Honeywell building the Honeywell has just left and I guess I haven't heard what's going on with that. So (00:11:36) you see herbs building is now called the Great Lakes inner and it's a part of our Enterprise Zone in the South Minneapolis area. The expectation is that you'd see the Sears Tower. It to a center that will create about 4,000 jobs. Some of them will be industrial and some of that activity is going on already today in spite of the fact that the whole development hasn't taken place will also reintroduce a retail into the Chicago Lake Corner in the Great Lakes enter. It'll be a comprehensive facility that will also provide access to resources that are provided by Hennepin County. This project is on track and I think over the next couple of years, you'll see a major transformation transformation at the Chicago Lake Area all of us were certainly disappointed to get the news that the Honeywell World Headquarters would be leaving Minneapolis and moving out to the east coast what I understand from my conversations with the executives at Honeywell is that there are a lot of what corporations that are actually interested in that beautiful campus. So right now they're negotiating with several a different corporates corporate organizations that have in Just in that property and our hope is that before the end of the year, they will have solidified an agreement with one of these interested parties and will be well on our way to continue the legacy of good corporate citizenship taking place in the Phillips and the greater South Minneapolis area. And I just can I just like to suggest to you that we got to stay tuned (00:13:12) Minneapolis. Mayor Sharon Sales Belton is with us this hour if you have a question for the mayor, here's the number to call six five one two, two seven six thousand 6512276 thousand outside the Twin Cities 1-800 to for 228286512276 thousand or one eight hundred two, four two two eight two eight mayor this week the Highway 55 protest marked its first anniversary protests continued do you think and I know that you have in general been in favor of the The rerouting of Hiawatha in general though. Do you think it's time to suspend work on that project take a second. Look at the issues there and see if some some agreement can be reached between all the parties. (00:14:04) I think people have tried over the past several weeks and indeed years to reach agreement on on the project and the project is is moving forward. I think it's not possible to reach agreement. I think both you know sides have going to dug in the roads got dual be rerouted. We've got to prepare the roadway for the eventuality of LRT and to the Hiawatha Corridor in order for us to provide protections of for the citizens and also facilitate the ease of a traffic the tunnel leads to be a built and those things are moving forward. I think the thing that I also believe as a been accomplished his men The environmental issues and and issues of culture that have been raised in context of this project have have been addressed people wanted us to ensure that the Springs were going to be protected. The roadway will be designed in such a way that the spring will be protected. Again people have raised questions about the the elimination of the trees that were deemed to be sacred. A lot of people have evaluated those questions and issues and and have a deem that that's not true. Let's let's proceed. I think everybody's been trying to be respectful of other issues on both sides. And I think that there were at a Crossroads here where people are just going to have to accept the fact that there is there's disagreement that cannot be resolved. This project is is moving forward and I think the project will be hampered as it moves forward by the fact that the protesters are have not given up and will not give (00:15:48) Is that reroute good for the City of Minneapolis for the people who live in the city or is it primarily going to benefit commuters? (00:15:55) Well, I think again a couple of I think everybody benefits personally and I just want to see if for all of the folks who are listening and who remembered the discuss the discussions in the past that have taken place about this roadway. They would acknowledge that it's 35 40 years old. It's always been controversial and it will be you know, once it's open and and even after we start realizing the benefits of it, they'll be still people who say this shouldn't your never have happened who's going to benefit? Yes, there'll be some benefit to a people who are moving through the metropolitan area and moving through the city. I think this will also benefit the congestion that's taking place on 35W. I think this will also facilitate lesser cars being driven into downtown Minneapolis. Yes, I believe It will improve air quality. And yes, I believe that the roadway will facilitate development along the Hiawatha quarter. That's good for the tax base that adds more opportunity for us to increase housing in the city. And one of the things we want to do in Minneapolis is grow the population and at the same time enhance the tax base all those things will happen now on the negative side the some of the environmentalists would say, but what are you doing? You're destroying other Parkways, you're damaging trees. You're you're doing all of these other things to undermine, you know, this relationship is tranquil relationship that we have to have to be in harmony with the environment and and they would suggest that the harm that we were doing is significant and great and I don't have a good answer for that. I think that again what we have to do is remember that we as well as we make progress we must be custodians of this, you know precious. You know environment that gives us and sustains our life, but we do have to make progress scary and and I believe that this is progress and I believe that there are great benefits for all of us to direct people to drive on with this project (00:18:04) Richard your question for the mayor. Yes. Thank you. I just like people to know that the city has torn down more than 4,000 rental units in the past few years and is only replace less than a hundred 100. The city is driving a private property owners out of business by tearing down those houses and then going to the state and asking for public money to build more affordable housing and one of the causes of this I believe is not properly enforcing the housing code meaning that the housing code calls for ticketing renters when they are damaging property and when the property gets so damaged in and it's not fixed up in time the city then. Forces a stricter housing code that makes the property owner bring it up to the standards of a brand-new house. I just like to know when the mayor is going to have the city inspections department enforce that part of the housing (00:19:00) code. Let me just share with the collar that I have always been a strong advocate of the enforcement of the housing maintenance code and I believe if everybody was complying with the housing maintenance code homeowners and and landlords that we wouldn't have a some of the problems of that we have have today and I wish we could come to to be of like mine about the importance of the housing maintenance code Gary just a last week as we were celebrating National Night Out I went through a variety of neighborhoods across the city and while I'm it's not my intention to single out landlords. I will tell you that when other properties they came to visit on James Avenue North was a rental property. Beautiful family out there enjoying the National Night Out very active in in the black Club of activities and when I came upon the property, I mean here's property where there was no door on the front porch where there were Elm trees growing out of the foundation where the grass clearly hadn't been cut in the several weeks and I asked the homeowner going to like what's wrong with this property and the grass is not cutting you got weeds growing out of the foundation. And if you don't cut them you're going to destroy your foundation and she said, you know, this is a rental property. And of course I walked away from that being absolutely Furious. Why would a landlord who owns a property like this? Let the elm trees grow out of the foundation and destroy a property that's giving them Revenue why would a landlord not maintain the property so that it was contributing to the quality of life of the rest of the people on the neighborhood in the neighborhood. I mean for the caller to suggest that this is the city's problem alone, I think is not right. We all have an obligation. Maintain a some order and some decency and some standards of cleanliness of 44 ourselves in the properties that we live in and everybody's got to do a better job. So I don't want to single anybody out. But I really like to ask people to come to the common table and let us agree that all properties in the City of Minneapolis and elsewhere need to be held to the same standard in everybody do their job. (00:21:10) It sounded all like our caller there Richard was particularly unhappy with what he sees as a refusal by the city to crack down on tenants who who are not living up to their end of the bargain. (00:21:27) Well, one of the things that we've said to landlords and as well to tinted advocacy groups is that we need to have a some standards are whereby there is some expectation that tennard's would you know agree to live in properties and maintain, you know, some kind of you know orders of Some behavioral standards those things exist. They called agreements between the tenant and the landlord. I'm not in that agreement that's agreement between the tenant and the landlord the landlord needs to have the tenant sign a document that says I will not punch holes in the wall. I will not let my kids or draw pictures on the wall with coloring crayons. I will keep on my unit to cleans us to not attract rodents and past Etc. The tenant signs that with the landlord and if the tenant is not keeping up to that standard in the landlord has redress through court. Now, what I've said to the landlord groups is that if you think the redress through the courts is not adequate and you think that there's something that we can do to help tenants do a better job in and being good tenants. I support that to let's get a list of experiences that tenants who are having trouble. You know it biting by the rules of being a good tenant. Let's give them Draining but again the people who are responsible for requiring that are the courts. So let's have Housing Court require people who have been kicked out of a unit under a unlawful detainer or whatever go through some training so that they learn how to be a good tenant. That means learning how to clean the kitchen. Let's do that. If that means knowing that you got to take out the trash every week. Let's do that. If it means whatever let's get somebody who has some authority to do that the owners of rental property not all of them, but some of them think that that's my job to do that. And what I'm trying to suggest to them is that we all have a role to play here, but let's not put some responsibilities on the government to do to do those things. Let's try to figure out what the whole problem is and everybody soon assume the rightful role. My rightful role is to have a housing code established for the city to have inspectors enforcing it. (00:23:46) Our guests this our Minneapolis mayor Sharon sales belt and here to talk about some of the issues facing the city. Let me give you the number here six five. One two, two seven six thousand 6512276 thousand outside the Twin Cities one eight hundred two, four two two eight two eight will get to some more callers in just a couple of minutes, but we take a break here. First of all, this is a test of the emergency alert system. I guess our test failed programming on Minnesota Public Radio is supported by the Guthrie Theater now performing Eugene O'Neill's nostalgic coming-of-age comedy our Wilderness through August 30th tickets available. 6123772224 news headlines. Here's Mike Mulcahy Mike. Thanks Gary. No emergencies in the news right now. So I think we'll be safe for a while. It may be Friday the 13th, but it's a lucky day on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is climbing this morning after a new report showing inflation remains in check the blue-chip index's up about a hundred and fifty points in trading today. There's a funeral tomorrow for the mail carrier. Allegedly killed by l a shooting suspect Buford Furrow. The Los Angeles Times is also reporting that Furrow told investigators. He didn't mean to shoot the children in the Jewish Community Center attack. He says they got in the way of his other targets there have been reports that Chinese. Officials have warned Washington that Beijing is considering military action against Taiwan because of its recent moves toward Independence. But the White House today is denying its heard any such threats the United Nations wants to put a stop to the ethnic violence and tensions in Kosovo. Especially recent clashes between albanians and peacekeepers. It is announced a new rule that lets peacekeepers and police detain and even expel anyone who's considered a threat to public order. In Minnesota news, the executive director of Unicef is the keynote speaker for this weekend's National Peace Corps conference in st. Paul before joining UNICEF Carol Bellamy served as director of the Peace Corps and before that. She was a volunteer more than a hundred and fifty thousand people have served in the Peace Corps since its beginning nearly 40 years ago the whole thing grew out of an idea first presented to President John F. Kennedy by Minnesota. Senator Hubert Humphrey a community to Community Development groups as it now has more resources to help businesses and greater Minnesota, Minnesota Network Investment corporation is getting a half million dollars from u.s. Bank officials say the money will be invested in businesses that show potential for growth. Looking at the weather forecast for today. It should be sunny breezy and cool with highs just barely making it above 70 degrees tonight. Mostly clear with some fog developing. It'll be cool again with lows between 45 and 50 tomorrow some morning fog then mostly sunny with highs in the 70s for the Twin Cities this afternoon partly cloudy cool high in the upper 60s to low 70s right now Rochester is about the only station still reporting Cloudy Skies 60 degrees in Rochester sunny, and st. Cloud and 66 Duluth sunny and 64 and the Twin Cities partly. Sunny 65 degrees Gary. That's an update of the latest news. Thank you. Mike. You'll be happy to know that indeed. We're going to try again here. This is a test of the emergency alert system. It worked. I guess this hour and midday is Minneapolis. Mayor Sharon Sales Belton. All of our lines are busy right now. So don't call in with your questions, but do jot down the number and try us here in about 5-10 minutes as we get through some callers 6512276 thousand outside the Twin Cities one eight hundred two, four two two eight two eight Craig your question for the mayor. Well, I thought it was as an owner of rental property. I think one of the reasons that there isn't a whole lot of maintenance is that it becomes this pointless battle and that the city actively with a cdbg funding funds a number of tenants rights groups who make it virtually impossible to evict a problem tenant and maybe if we had a little more Public Funding from the cdbg funding for landlord rights groups, we wouldn't have these problems. Mayor is the are the scales about even here or are they waited too heavily in terms of the tenants. (00:28:25) I don't believe that the scales are weighted at all. I think that there is a legitimate concern of that landlords are raised about how do they you get control over other tenants or they keep their tenants from creating problems that then they have to work of through as a property owners, but I don't think that the City of Minneapolis has 25 thousand dollar contribution of cdbg funds to Legal Aid is the problem. I think the problem is that we've got people who are living in a rental property who don't have respect for the property and don't have a respect for the fact that this is their home and it should be treated with respect. How do we how do we get the transformation of that behavior again? I don't think government can do that. I think there are some folks out. There are some organizations that can help and that's why I continue to try to dialogue with the landlords and with other advocacy groups about ensuring that again, when we find problem tenant that we require them through the ud process to have to go to some classes to learn how to do the job to learn how to be the good tenant. And and I think that's the right direction to go in and I wish that everybody would stop pointing fingers at each other and get on with the business (00:29:52) Brad your question right here relates to taxicab issues. I live in downtown and Lily. I found it quite difficult with the taxi cabs to get a cab coming back to town so often it's so easy we can get a cab out of town and I've also met other tourists and visitors who say that trying to get one back into the city is often very difficult, and I'm wondering if the mayor's office has ever looked at the possibility of Sort of a central Clearinghouse that it's so difficult when you call these cab companies to get an honest answer to when the Cavs will be coming and they're licensed with the city and the city inspects and checks after them. But yet is a visitor to the city or Reason even as a resident of the city to try to get the cab sometimes can be (00:30:33) impossible. It can't really answer with any specificity of the caller's a question. I will tell you that again, I think if you're coming from the airport to the availability of a cab is high it may be that if you're in some other part of the city, it may be more difficult to find a cab cab companies. I think put a cabs on the street at the rating which are they think of those that cabs are going to be able to attract enough for ridership to make their presence on the street worthwhile. But again, I think of the cholera raises a good question in the sense that if we're going to encourage people to use public transportation to not drive into the downtown where He may be hard to find that we need to make sure that there are other vehicles buses and cabs of that are readily available to help of people get the to and from their (00:31:26) destinations while we're on the subject of Transportation little bit about light rail specifically the high cost of running the light rail line through downtown Minneapolis on Fifth Fifth the cost being involving the relocation of Utilities in the rest. Are you thinking about a different route or you are how you going to pay for it? If you do have to go down Fifth Street, (00:31:57) actually a Gary MnDOT Minnesota Department of Transportation is looking at an alternative of 2/5 or looking at 6. And so they're still doing an analysis part of that analysis are will also include other cost of you know, moving the utilities office and I don't know what the conclusion of That analysis is going to be but given the fact that we have some information about the the cost that to the utilities. We are looking at some Alternatives the bottom line is that we don't want to make this thing. So unaffordable that we don't move forward with the introducing on light rail line into into the City of Minneapolis has Transportation a network so the jury still out and and hopefully over the next several weeks will get some information that will help us to know whether or not we're going to go forward with fifth and then sort out. How does it get done? How does it get financed or move over to a six where our cost would theoretically be a less a lot of assumptions that we've made about how the light rail will work will have to change if we shift over to us six so we don't want to start doing all that planning until we get some of the you know, Luminary numbers in front of us (00:33:17) long long term. What's the vision here? Do you see Light Rail lines running all through downtown or just this one that would then be served by feeder buses? (00:33:28) Well, I think it's kind of hard to say, you know kind of what's long-term. I think the first thing that we'd like to see in the region is the light rail line coming down Hiawatha into the downtown. Of course, some people say, well, let's take the first line all the way out to 13 and cross the Minnesota River into the Suburban communities of Eagan and and on the Apple Valley area. I kind of support that but course it makes the cost of pretty high the folks over in Ramsey County would like to see the second thing. I'll be a connection into same Paula out of the airport, of course others. I would like to see us draw people from the western or so. Verbs are into the downtown to relieve some of the congestion that were already seeing on 394 and 694. So I think I can't answer the question. What I think we've got to do though is that we've got to get going with a light rail. We've got to demonstrate to minnesotans and to the legislature that people will accept this alternative to their automobile and that the ridership will be sufficient to justify the cost. So we want to do it right with the Hiawatha line the first line and then I think they'll be a Scramble for who goes next (00:34:55) Steve your question. Yes, good morning. And thank you for being on the other side morning mayor. I'm curious to know if you could give us an update on the plans for the Guthrie theaters new site search specifically three parts a is the parade Stadium site still being considered and B if it is selected with the The Guthrie or the taxpayers wind up paying for the site cleanup over at Linden yard of that site is chosen to become the new park land and finally most and most importantly to me. I guess what would be wrong or prevent the Guthrie from moving to the blocky area which would make use of that site finally already has the services and infrastructure our inference infrastructure setup and additionally would bring more people to the downtown area generating more income for the area in the city and thanks a (00:35:44) lot. Well, thank you so much for the question. I think the Guthrie board of directors are have been having a lot of different conversation about the site's. I think they've looked at the blackie. I think they've looked at the of the blocker that's just a north of the Loring Park where the Lauren Cafe is and there is some article about that in the newspapers and some discussion on the radio. And of course, there's been a lot of discussion about parade Stadium which of course would be Right across the street from where the Guthrie currently has its presence. So I think they're continuing to look at all of those possibilities and trying to make a decision that's going to be in the best interest of not only the Guthrie but I think also the well-being of the community so I don't think anything has been decided. The analysis is still underway. I think the preferred site at least of that. I've heard from a Guthrie Executives is that the parade stadium is ideal now, let's talk about the question you raised about who covers all the cost of the the moving they're moving over the of the rubble at the Linden yards. And then where did the ball fields go? There has been some discussion about the ball fields again moving on over into the Bryn Mawr area where the Lynn Linden yards are. Let me share something with you in my opinion regardless of what happens with the Guthrie Theater The Lending yard should move I do not. Lie that it's a good idea for us to have as the gateway to North Minneapolis the concrete crushing facility that we have of the Linden Linden yards. I am in favor of moving the impound lot again away from the front door of the near North Community. Why is that important? We're engaged in orders in a discussion on the near North Side about recreating and strengthening and stabilizing they'll and that again is just further north of the Linden yards and it's our hope they're to build a nicer mixed income Community to enhance or that Community with amenities such as open space and ponds Etc bike trails that would draw people through North Minneapolis and into the beautiful area near and around or the cedar trails and the the Loring Park area to open the door to the north side as opposed to Supporting this closed door that we've had in the city's history. So regardless of what happens with the Guthrie. We need to move the Linden yards. We are analyzing that right now and we will assume the cost of that as the public again regardless of the of the Guthrie Theater decisions about its new location. Now, let's say if the Guthrie does go to the parade Stadium site, we would expect to be in a partnership with the Guthrie respect to get money Revenue payment from other Guthrie sufficient to help us rebuild those ballfields wherever they might end up and of course, I think the Bryn Mawr area would be great so that they stay in the general vicinity. But again, there's a lot of unknowns here (00:39:07) and blocky why not. Just (00:39:10) what (00:39:13) will the Guthrie any chance they got? We would move the block e is anything going to happen on (00:39:18) blocky? I think Blackie is going to move (00:39:21) forward now for those who haven't been following this long Saga. This is a block Prime real estate and outrageous black Downtown Minneapolis that's been vacant for now for what? Well, it's got a parking lot on it. But what 10 years (00:39:35) 15 years exactly at least 10 years Gary will the Guthrie go to a black e, I think the Guthrie is done some things. I think the Guthrie is surveyed its patrons to determine where their patrons are want to be. I think the Guthrie is ask themselves whether or not they are an appropriate to use under Blackie whether or not they are complementary to the state of North Korean theater that are just a few blocks away whether or not their presence is complementary to the Target Center in the sports activities that take place there whether or not it's complementary to the exciting vibrant and very stimulating nightlife of that occurs on first. The Avenue and and Hennepin and I think some people have said the answer to that is no and some people have said well, maybe there's some possibilities again, I think blocky is in the number three position. It's not in the second position. It's not in the first position the first position I think for the Guthrie folks is that they want to stay right where they are in proximity to the Walker and proximity to the sculpture garden in proximity to the Loring Park in proximity to the 3 94 Corridor. I think they want to stay where they are. And the thing that we've got to figure out is that can they afford to can we make it all (00:40:57) work Rosalie your question. Yes to piggyback on the North Minneapolis ideas that were talking about putting a gateway to the North Minneapolis. I'm from Weber Camden and we are we have two concerns one is the NRP Phase 2. We know you're about to Went to taking a look at Phase 2 of n RP and we just want to cite that we think in our p is working wonderfully for our neighborhood the way it is and we know that you're thinking about the possibility of money's going to a general fund of a community. Whereas all of Camden would get the money rather than each individual neighborhood and we want to know let you know that the North Side neighborhoods really like the way it works now and that it would promote huge amount of tension if we had to all Scramble for the money and fight for the money amongst ourselves rather than being given our own money to decide what to do in our no own neighborhoods. And the other thing that I'd like to talk to you about is the kinda Raider. I'm not sure if that's been brought up or not yet. So I apologize if it's already been brought up but that we on the North side have written you a letter about it as well that we do not want it located here and make the industrial Zone that is already the riverfront which is, you know, a real deterrent to people wanting to live up here on the North side because of the industrial Zone. We do not want the condo reader located their They're inhibiting us to be able to make it more of a recreational and family use area or even better yet. How about affordable housing would you keep talking (00:42:23) about? Well, there were three questions. I'm not sure what the affordable housing question was. But so let me first talk about NRP phase to this was the program. I talked about a little while ago where we in cooperation with the neighborhood's strength and revitalized of the communities. I think it's working well too, but I do think that in the second ten years, there's some adjustments that we'd like to make the first adjustment that we really like to make is to ensure that the NRP is is working in cooperation with the goals of the city when the program first started the city didn't have clearly defined goals we do now, we think these things need to be merge the only major initiative of that. I've personally been talking about as it relates to a second year 10 years of the NRP is working in tandem with the neighborhoods around housing and working more closely with the neighborhood's about the commercial corridors. I haven't done made Any public statements about how they allocate the resources will be allocated to neighborhoods or planning districts or anything like that. So don't accept the idea that the mayor is promoting that what I'm promoting is that there ought to be participation expected participation from the neighborhoods in the area of Housing and Commercial corridors. And I know in the web to Camden area, there are a lot of issues about strengthening commercial corridors and and I want to make some progress with those neighborhoods on those initiatives so that we can work together MCD a and neighborhoods and in RP funds to get the job done. Let me quickly talk about the other kind of reader the kind of reader is the big proposed middle Shredder that would would be introduced to the Minneapolis of Riverfront. It's a it's a byproduct of the scrap metal Inna industry and it's highly controversial. One of the things that the City of Minneapolis is supporting is the Creation of the Upper Mississippi you master plan and one of the values in the Upper Mississippi master plan is that we would create more opportunities for the public to be able to enjoy the Mississippi on on the in the upper areas up of from the central Riverfront. And what I want to tell you are challenges there is that this is an area of the Mississippi River that is been what we would call a working River industry does exist there. I think into the future industry might continue to exist there how much of it I don't know. I think we've got to try to find a way that we would create compatible uses between industry and and recreational uses and we hope that the Upper Mississippi river master plan will provide us with a framework for moving forward on that. And so again, I don't think anything has been decided. It's a work in progress. I spoke to that yesterday in the budget framework and have been suggested through that framework that we needed to be prepared to be in dialogue with their citizens on that master plan. I think that there are It opportunities for us to introduce more housing into the Upper Mississippi river area again along the river much like we've done in the central Riverfront again the exact locations. I'm not sure but I do think that there's a way for us to strengthen and fortify the quality of life that we have in the the north side of Minneapolis and that includes the Northeast area. I think of the caller also understands of that we've seen a Renaissance of sorts in the some of our neighborhoods on the North side and more and more people are coming back to those of neighborhoods. And I think that's a good thing (00:46:04) mayor we've only got well less than two minutes left to go here you've got on a time but I have to ask you Vikings owner a red McCombs said in a public publicly release letter that city and county officials. He's disappointed in political leadership and Direction on the issue of getting him a new stadium you met with him. This week is here are his Cancer are his criticisms (00:46:27) legitimate. Well, I think the thing that I said that to the media and to a lot of folks who asked me about it is that it was kind of a form letter. I mean it was he sent this in letter to everyone that was on the city council and everybody's on the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners. So I didn't think the letter personally I didn't take it personally because since 1997 I've been way out in front some people think too far out in front of this advocacy for professional sports facilities to be a part of other Minneapolis economy. Well, I think it's important to do that because I think they do generate excitement enthusiasm and vitality for our community. So again, I didn't take the letter personally. I think the thing that I really like though about what red Macomb is said he said publicly that he thinks the idea that we're trying to advance in Minneapolis and Hennepin County is a good plan and he wants to get behind it. And so what he's going to do for us, I think over the next several weeks and months is talked about the fact that this is a superior plan to anything that's being Discuss currently and it's a plan that responds to the concerns. Not only raised by the Minnesota Twins, but by the Minnesota Vikings again, I think that you're not going to get a resolution of the legislature that is singly focused on the Twins. And so again, I I personally would like to applaud rhythmic going for his commitment to help us engage in light a fire under the Minneapolis our business community and and the elected officials to try to to find a solution. I'm not suggesting that the only one I've been talking about is is is the one but we got to do something differently. These are assets in our community and I'd like to them to continue mayor we're out of time. Oh gosh. Thanks so much for coming in. Today is my pleasure. (00:48:11) Our guests this our Minneapolis. Mayor Sharon Sales Belton during this first hour of our midday program. Here's your chance to do a lot of work and make us look brilliant. We're tired of looking at bumper stickers to sail and of ten zillion mosquitoes and we think you can come up. Better and funnier distillation of all that is Minnesota invent a bumper sticker about Minnesota send it to us. We'll take the best three and turn them into real bumper stickers that will distribute all over the state to enter go to our website at MP r dot org or mail them to empty our bumper sticker 45 East seventh st. Paul, Minnesota 551015 minutes before noon and time now for the writers almond.