PPCC Virtual Gathering on Tuesday, November 17 6:30pm
By Dawn Buck on Oct 19, 2020 | In Uncategorized | Comments Off on PPCC Virtual Gathering on Tuesday, November 17 6:30pm
Register here for the meeting & you will receive the link in your email.
Follow the following Order of Business
a. Call to Order
b. Presentation and action on the minutes of the previous meeting
c. Presentation and action on the treasurer’s report
d. Reading of all communications received
e. Report of the Committees: Watch, Art Fair, Breeze, Executive, Rummage Sale, Youth, Sunshine, Environmental, Program, Hospitality
f. Discussion and action on unfinished business
g. Discussion and action on new business
h. (Biannual Meeting) Election of Officers
i. Adjournment
Letter to Neighbors who had dredge material added to beach in 2020
Letter to Neighbors who are in the zone for dredge materials on beach in 2021
- Lafayette to be closed for the rest of the winter per City – letter is below– feedback and concerns
- Beach Nourishment Update- Hamilton Smith is available for questions ; he is the chairperson of the Park Point Erosion and High Water Committee
- Sky Harbor Stakeholder Advisory Committee Project Website
- Bentleyville Details– Find your tunnel pass and put it in your car- Treasurer Al Robins and Tom Rauschenfels – Do we have more passes available?
- Ongoing projects & watch report from neighbors
October 14, 2020
Dear Duluth Parks and Recreation User,
The City of Duluth Property, Parks, and Libraries Department has begun to carefully reopen a small number of Parks and Recreation buildings that have been mostly or entirely closed since the onset of the pandemic in the spring. This initial phase of reopening will be limited to three buildings – Morgan Park Community Center, Washington Center Gymnasium, and Portman Community Center – that will be managed, used, and cleaned in accordance with disease prevention plans consistent with federal and state guidelines.
The City is reopening these buildings with the aim of establishing a balance between providing the Parks and Recreation services and facilities that will be increasingly important for the community’s emotional well-being this winter and restricting the kinds of indoor activities that contribute to disease spread.
To check on availability of reservations at Portman or Morgan Park, as well as outdoor park spaces and pavilions, check our Reservations page: https://duluthmn.gov/parks/reservations-permits/ or contact Chris Severson, Permits Coordinator, at 730-4305 or cseverson@duluthmn.gov.
To inquire about reservations at the Washington Center Gym, as well as other athletic facilities, please contact Nick Budnik, Recreation Specialist, at 730-4314 or nbudnik@duluthmn.gov.
Please note that parties that rent Parks facilities will be required to have a City-approved disease prevention plan outlining how they will take action to prevent the spread of COVID-19 consistent with federal, state, and city guidelines. Templates for such plans are available through our Parks Division or groups may submit plans in their own format.
If you would like to register for one of our recreation programs, the schedule and registration information is available at: https://duluthmn.gov/parks/programs-events/general-programs/ Fall programs through the end of the year are available for registration now. Each program has been adapted to meet federal and state guidelines.
In addition to the three City-managed Parks and Recreation buildings that will remain open, the City will continue to permit organizations that lease City buildings and have City-approved disease prevention plans to open to the public so long as they strictly comply with plan requirements.
Parks buildings that will remain closed through the winter include Grant Community Center, Lafayette Community Center, Harrison Community Center, Wade Stadium, and Wheeler Fieldhouse. City staff have begun winterizing and locking these buildings for the season. These buildings need to remain closed because a City workforce temporarily reduced by layoffs is insufficient to carry out the intensified pandemic cleaning regimen in all Parks buildings.
Please note that public access to Parks buildings may be further restricted if disease spread continues to intensify. Should that prove necessary, reservations will be cancelled and payments fully refunded.
Sincerely Yours,
Jim Filby Williams
Director, Property, Parks, and Libraries Department
Other notes, concerns or points of interest that neighbors are sharing:
Ron Johnson and his wife have offered to look through 25 plus boxes of books from the Park Point school and see if there are historical items relevant to Park Point and the Community Club. They would like to donate items to the Club. Ron’s wife had her first teaching assignment on Park Point and they deconstructed her classroom and have stored many items for years since building their home on the school’s site. Thank you very much!
Kevin Lyons, Sky Harbor Airport Manager (replacing Brian Madsen in early 2020)
Change of Venue Petition – fyi
Greater Duluth Business Association starts petition to
Say “No” to George Floyd Trial in Duluth / St. Louis County, MN
Recently, Fox 9 News out of the Twin Cities, reported that all four defense teams have filed a motion to move the George Floyd trial out of Hennepin County due to jury concerns. The attorney for Thao has recommended the trial should be held in St. Louis County. While the trial could financially recoup some lost income due to COVID-19 for the tourism industry with an influx of national media, it also brings the possibility of violent protests, as seen in Minneapolis this summer.
St. Louis County has two courthouses, one in Hibbing and one in Duluth. Hibbing does not have the ability to easily accommodate the needs of, what we assume would be, 100s of national media personnel and potentially 1,000s of spectators, supporters, and protestors attending this trial. This would make Duluth the only logical location for the trial if held in St. Louis County, but the city would be greatly pressed to accommodate the number of people attending what could easily be a lengthy trial.
The Greater Duluth Business Association has created this petition to give the citizens of St. Louis County a voice on this critical decision, out of concern for the safety of our citizens, property owners and business community.
“We have all seen the devastation of the riots in the Twin Cities this summer with more than 400 businesses damaged and rebuilding costs estimated at more than $500 million,” explained Greater Duluth Business Association Board Member, Beth Wentzlaff. “There is a very real potential for the protests to turn into violence as they did in Minneapolis. Is this a risk our citizens are willing to take in our already financially challenged region?”
Other counties, like Clay County, have spoken out against the trial being moved to their community. The Greater Duluth Business Association feels business owners and citizens of Duluth should have the right to voice their opinion on this issue. The petition created by the Association is a plea to Mayor Emily Larson, Police Chief Mike Tusken, and the Duluth City Council to let George Floyd Trial Judge, Peter Cahill, know that having this trial in Duluth would put too much at risk.
The petition can be found here: http://chng.it/VHJCBmzNk6
For more information please contact:
Greater Duluth Business Association
policy@greaterduluthbiz.comas no such plans.)
