SPECIAL TIDBITS 11-6-2009

Como Student Community Coop Site Clean-Up

Como Community Members:

A few months ago, a small article in the Star Tribune announced that over $700,000 had been appropriated from Hennepin County’s Brownfield Remediation funds to do work at the Como Student Community Cooperative (CSCC) – the 400+ unit married and family student housing complex located at the east end of the Como community. This immediately raised questions with the SECIA board and staff about what was being done at the site and what were the implications to the greater Como community. We subsequently sought more information, requested relevant documentation, and met with Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) staff at our last Environment Committee meeting. Our Environmental Coordinator has also reviewed the information found in the documentation we have received to date.

This is what we know so far:

· The student cooperative was having foundation water-proofing installed when the contractor discovered signs that there may be some contaminates in the soil around the buildings

· The University then initiated core sample analysis of the property with a focus on the northern half – from Talmage to Hennepin

· The results of those core samples showed high concentrations in some areas of contaminate including the heavy metals of arsenic, cooper and lead along with other volatile compounds

· The University developed a remediation plan, which was approved by the MPCA, for the north half of the property, which includes soil removal and replacement to varying depths

· They have already completed half the work (the northeast corner) at a cost of about 1 millions dollars, and plan to continue into the northwest corner as funds are found

· The MPCA is uncertain of the history, but has determined that the likely source seems to be an old dumpsite, active sometime in the thirties and later, but the type of dump, who ran it, and the later history around why it wasn’t remediated, is yet to be determined

· The MPCA is also looking into the scope of the problem, since while it seems to be concentrated mostly at the northeast corner of the property, it needs to be known how far any contamination may have spread. No investigation off the property is planned at this time

The information we are seeing in the two reports we have (available at the SECIA office) is troubling - especially as it relates to the high concentrations of heavy metals such as arsenic, copper and lead – and it is good that there is aggressive remediation happening at the cooperative. However, given the possibility that there could have been some cross contamination of soil over the years, we are seeking help in broadening the soil and are contacting the MPCA, Hennepin County, and local officials, asking for their help. Until we have a clearer picture, we cannot know for sure if there is any need for concern for the adjacent property owners. We plan to have a community meeting at some point in the near future, once we can establish the appropriate contacts at the University and the above-identified agencies.

We do not have any further information at this time, but we can email the reports we have electronically, if you contact the SECIA office (ec@secomo.org). The MPCA staff working on the project is Lynne Grigor, 651 757-2399.

U of M Petition Letter

The SECIA Livability Committee has authored the letter/petition below, to be sent to University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks. The letter's intent is to inform President Bruininks how dismayed we residents of SE MPLS, who are also U of M constituents (grads, employees, donors, faculty, grad and professional students, family members of the afore mentioned), are about the bad reputation that our University, and our community, has acquired due to the behavior of U-related young people when out in the community. The idea is to seek signatures from anyone who has any kind of affiliation with the U and who also lives in SE MPLS, and after we've collected these signatures, mail President Bruininks the results.

The letter is below. If you would like to sign this petition, please use this short, three-question survey.

Dear President Bruininks: 

We write to you as concerned constituents of the University of Minnesota – graduates, Alumni Association members, donors, faculty , staff, and graduate and professional students – who are also residents of the three neighborhoods of Southeast Minneapolis, Marcy-Holmes, Prospect Park-E. River Road, and Como neighborhoods.  

With dismay, we have seen the reputation of our University, and with it the reputation of Southeast Minneapolis and its neighborhoods, tainted by the uncivil behavior of University-linked young people.  This process is not a new one; its progress has driven away many of our stable renting and home-owning neighbors for years.  However, the riots, public drunkenness, fires, intimidation, defiance of authority, and violence of the last several years in our Southeast community are making it increasingly difficult to build and maintain the community of stable residents that we feel sure the University would like to see around its Minneapolis campus. 

We see that the wider community, and even the student community, no longer chooses to live in Southeast Minneapolis.  Several of us heard the current Minnesota Student Association president and another MSA officer say that they choose other areas because of the reputation of Southeast Minneapolis.  According to various surveys and research, undertaken as part of the Impact Study (2006-07), many University employees no longer seek housing in the Southeast neighborhoods. 

We believe the University must take highly visible and continuing steps to counteract these damaging impressions.  The current community and University efforts to promote the health and environmental effects of living near one’s work will be for naught if these incidents continue to build an unsavory reputation for our neighborhoods. 

We look forward to hearing and seeing strong action by the University of Minnesota as soon as possible. 

Sincerely,