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Serving the Stevens Square-Loring Heights Neighborhood

1900 Nicollet Avenue #216, Minneapolis, MN 55403  Phone: (612) 440-0247  www.stevenssquare.org

Meeting of the Board of Directors

Agenda for Tuesday, Aug  5, 2025 at 6 PM

Plymouth Church room 215, and on Zoom

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Meeting ID: 865 7062 5115

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The purpose of this meeting is to conduct the business of the SSCO Board, which makes its decisions based upon the work of the committees, and to have committee chairs make their reports to the Board. Only Board members can vote on motions and when appropriate, motions can be opened to the floor for discussion. Discussions will follow parliamentary procedure.

Any person who wishes to be on the agenda for a Board meeting should contact the Board Chair in writing at board@stevensquare.org ten (10) days in advance of the next scheduled Board Meeting. The Executive Committee reviews all requests and prepares the agenda.

SSCO recognizes that name and gender identity are central to most individuals' sense of self and well-being, and that it is important for SSCO to establish mechanisms to acknowledge and support individuals' self-identification. One way we can support identity is by honoring the name and pronouns that each of us go by.

Many people might go by a name in daily life that is different from their legal name. In our gatherings, we seek to refer to people by the names that they go by.

Pronouns can be a way to affirm someone's gender identity, but they can also be unrelated to a person's identity. They are simply a public way in which people are referred to in place of their name (e.g. "he" or "she" or "they" or "ze" or something else). At all SSCO Board and committee meetings, you are invited (if you want to) to share what pronouns you go by, and we seek to refer to people using the pronouns that they share. The pronouns someone indicates are not necessarily indicative of their gender identity.

City of Minneapolis Land Acknowledgement: As we meet here today, we are reminded that Minneapolis is situated on the homelands of the Dakota people. An area that is steeped in rich Indigenous history, and today is home to Indigenous people from more than 30 different nations. As a City, we have a responsibility to care for the land on which we live and work and all of its natural surroundings. This stewardship is an integral part of our involvement in SSCO, and we honor it as we begin our meeting.

Introductions

• Ken, Karen, Someone who lives on Groveland, Jody, Robert, Frank, Khrys, Adam, Scott, Lydia, Maureen, Shykala, Dee, Kristi

6:00: Minutes & Agenda

• Approve minutes from the July Board Meeting

• Moved by Ken, seconded by Frank

• Approve today’s agenda.

• Moved by Frank, seconded by Robert

6:10 Executive Director:

• Equitable Engagement Tracking 2025- committee and staff allocation
• 2025 SSCO Yearly Calendar

• Update Annual Meeting date to reflect August 23rd

• RHA Photos & Video Recap 
• 

6:15 New Business 

• Board Application for Committees- revisit idea

• Meant to better track who’s on committees and who’s involved
• Originally opposed due to concerns about putting up a barrier to participation, but are open now that it is clear that anybody may still come to meetings

• Update from Christopher Freeman, the Attorney from the County Attorney’s office who has been working with our Nicollet/Loring Safety Coalition monthly meeting.

This is the person charged with the murder of Robert Skafte. Robert’s birthday was July 13th. He would have been 68 years old.  

One year ago last May, Mr Schulz was declared by the Mental Health Court as a danger to himself and others and ordered to the St Peter facility. Due to lack of beds at the facility he has been held at our jail this past year on a $2 million bail. He will continue to be evaluated on his competence to stand trial for his felony criminal charges on the murder of Robert.  We will continue to keep everyone updated on hearings as they are posted.

• Neighborhood Organization Update: Board members receive the emails that come from NCR, so I wanted to make sure to send this alert out so everyone is aware of a recent scam attempt on a neighborhood org recently.

Please see below from Bob Cooper: Earlier this week, the treasurer for a neighborhood group was contacted by someone posing as the board president. They were asked to transfer money through Zelle. The scammer had obviously done their homework; they knew who the president was, who the treasurer was, and how to reach the treasurer to make the request.The request seemed legitimate, but the scammers balked when the treasurer asked them to send a copy of the invoice; they did send the name and phone number of a recipient.The email address it came from was not the email address of the organization’s president, but the name that was showing was the president’s name. It was the treasurer’s insistence on proper documentation and paperwork that saved them from being scammed. They then passed the information along so that we could warn other neighborhood groups.

•  Ward 7 Candidate Forum: Stevens Square might be interested in joining some of the other neighborhood organizations (Kenwood, Lowry Hill, East Isles, CIDNA) in co-hosting a candidate forum at my church, Lake of the Isles Lutheran, probably at some point in early October.  I think Stevens Square would bring a helpful perspective to the group, and I’m guessing there will be quite a lot of campaigning going on in the area, so this might be a good opportunity for residents to hear from the candidates directly.

• Moved by Karen to move forward, seconded by Robert

• Semple Mansion can be considered to be a venue

• Subject: Notification of Filing – Conditional Use Permit for IOP SUD Treatment Center

        Licensed DHS 245g Intensive Outpatient Substance Use Disorder Treatment Center provider currently located at 1422 W. Lake Street, Minneapolis who plans to move and transfer their location to 122 W, Franklin Ave, su. 508 (Minnesota Church Center) in Minneapolis. This facility intends to continue to provide essential recovery and rehabilitation services for individuals struggling with chemical dependency that offers counseling, therapy and group education in a safe and structured environment. Heritage Treatment Link is a culturally specific program serving East African and African American clients but is also open to all who seek services from us. We are applying for this permit so that we may serve 17 or more clients at this location.

Questions to raise re Heritage Treatment Link

-- How many of the teams shown on your website actually work for you currently?

• Three plus additional to-be-hired staff
• Maureen expresses concern regarding HTL’s lack of knowledge of the area
• Karen is tired of getting services instead of storefronts
• HTL might be operable as soon as early September

-- How many clients do you currently have? How many do you plan to have?

-- Where do current clients live-- what zip codes?

-- Where within the city approval process is this proposal?

-- Given that people with addictions bring their troubles with them: what are plans for security, beyond what the MCC already has in place?

7:15 Greening Coordinator Update

• July Greening Report

7:25 Communication & Outreach Manager Update

• July Communication & Outreach Report 

7:35 Committees:

• Finance: Finance Report June Expenses

• Any expense you are seeking reimbursement for, receipts will be needed
• Amazon credits: Used-$346.68 , Balance- $323.32

• Grants:

• 2025 RHA Expenses Spreadsheet

• Toro Company- $1000 (up to 3 months payout)
• Sunrise Banks ($200- RHA)

• 2025 Grant Spreadsheet Tracker 

• NDC/EEC: NDC/EEC June Report - Update for Robert Skafte memorial

• Safety: Safety June Report

7:55 2025 SSCO Goals

• Safety

Goal:

1. Non-emergency assistance and MPD alternatives to mitigate drug dealers/crime and unhoused residents
2. Partner/Collaborate with other Safety Walk Coalitions
3. Provide training and educational opportunities for Safety committee members (ie. Narcan training, Housing Inspection…etc.)

• Increase Participation in SSCO Events

        Goal:

        1. Send out mailers to every resident in SS-LH area. Provide door hangers for         select apt complex. Provide window flyers for businesses in SS-LH. Advertise         events  via radio (off-air & on-air), website, partnerships  

        2. Increase traffic to newsletter and social media channels with targeted                 advertising.

        3. Continue to build relationships with businesses and residents in the                 neighborhood.

        4. Continue landlord monthly meetings

• Funding

        Goal:

1. Create additional streams of income via grants
2. Use the additional income for:

-maintain current staff

-staff hire: event coordinator

-general hire: safety non emergency assistance

-provide additional security for property managers (ie. exterior/interior cameras, key fob/tenant only access to packages- smartphone package locker)

-host more community events

-provide raises for current staff

8:00 Wrap up and vote to adjourn

Karen moves to create a letter regarding the public safety crisis in SSLH addressed to SSLH council members and the mayor

Frank moves to adjourn, Karen seconds, passed unanimously

• Honorary Mention: Rent Rebate Program/Landlord Integration  

        Goal:

        1. Will revamp with more process, routines and accountability/

        2. Include each property in the rent rebate program.

        3. Create a survey to send to landlords that will help update our demographic,         provide creative solutions for rent rebate revamp and create a better story for                 grant proposals.

        4. Send out SSCO Monthly Newsletter to Landlords to provide to tenants.

        5. Create a recurring monthly meeting with landlords

Stevens Square Community Organization Mission Statement

SSCO provides a respectful forum for community involvement and leadership that builds on neighborhood strengths to promote and improve Stevens Square-Loring Heights as a fun place to live, work, and play. SSCO works to strengthen Stevens Square-Loring Heights by initiating, integrating, and implementing key priorities:

● Economic development (housing and commercial development)

● Community safety

● Clean green environment

● Building community through the arts

● Community involvement