HomeMy WebLinkAboutEdition Edina December 2020Edition: Edina
DECEMBER 2020
Volume 7, Issue 13Strong FoundationCITY GOALS:Better TogetherReliable Service Livable City
EDINA COVID-19 RESOURCE HOTLINE 952-826-0370
BY DAVID KATZ
It is not uncommon for a city to rename a
public amenity in honor of a community
founder, outstanding civic booster or
valiant war veteran. In the newly named
Yancey Park, the City of Edina has the
somewhat rarer opportunity to do all
three at once.
Beverly Claiborne (B.C.) and Ellen Maria
Yancey (née Bruce) loom large throughout
the early history of Edina.
As any acolyte of local history can tell
you, most of the community’s early
homesteaders came from Irish and
Yankee stock. However, the Yanceys were
among more than a dozen Black families
to resettle in Edina (then part of western
Richfield Township) in the years following
the Civil War.
An Ohio native, B.C. Yancey fought for
the Union as part of the 4th U.S. Colored
Infantry Regiment. His division participated
in several pivotal campaigns.
Ellen Yancey’s early life is difficult to
reconstruct in any detail, but extant
records offer tantalizing crumbs. Born in
the District of Columbia around 1832, she
purportedly perfected her cooking skills
with a stint working at the White House.
She married B.C. in 1870.
The couple ultimately settled on a 68-acre
farm in today’s Grandview Neighborhood.
In time, the Yanceys emerged as one
of the community’s more prosperous
families. They specialized in fruit growing.
One visitor, who gushed to a Black
newspaper The Appeal about a summer
1891 sojourn to the Yancey farmstead,
reported on a busy season where nearly
100 workers picked an impressive 2,400
quarts of produce each week!
Fittingly, given the family’s agricultural
prominence, B.C. and Ellen played
bedrock roles within Minnesota Grange
No. 398, the local chapter of a farming-
based fraternal organization that
proved the lifeblood of Edina through
its formative decades. B.C. chipped in
toward hall building costs, functioned as
a construction foreman, and took on the
role of Grange Secretary.
Family patriarch B.C. also served as
Recorder for the watershed moment in
1888 when Edina residents gathered (at
the Grange Hall, of course) to consider
secession from Richfield Township. He cast
his own ballot in favor of the move.
Like her husband, Ellen played an active
role in the Grange, a movement known,
then and now, for its strong egalitarian
principles. A talented singer and
instrumentalist, she was a natural choice
for the role of Chaplain.
As the matriarch of a large family, Ellen
also understandably took an active interest
in Edina School District 17. Indeed, she
Newly Renamed Yancey Park Honors Civic-Minded Pioneer Family
Yanceys Were Fruit Farmers, Leaders in Minnesota Grange
Beverly Claiborne (“B.C.”) Yancey
City of Edina EdinaMN.gov
boasts another claim to fame: founder and
inaugural president of Edina’s first ever
parent-teacher association.
Later in life, B.C. served as Justice of the
Peace and Village Recorder for Edina. His
fine oratory skills also secured him terms
as “Lecturer” in 1893, 1895 and 1897. A
statewide post, this made him the first
Black person elected to an officer position
in any State Grange.
B.C. died in 1905 at the age of 78. Ellen
passed away 10 years later, at the age of
82. They are buried together at Oak Hill
Cemetery in Minneapolis.
Their legacy would live on through their
children, in whom this same strain of
civic-mindedness clearly ran strong. B.C.
and Ellen also live on in the diaries and
letters of their contemporaries, who spoke
highly of their work ethic, bonhomie and
neighborliness.
Yancey Park, previously Garden Park,
at 5520 Hansen Road, will be formally
dedicated in early 2021.
1
Ellen Maria Yancey Photos courtesy of Edina Historical Society
2
BY THE NUMBERS
Building Inspections on Track
for Record-Breaking Year
Building inspections, up 1,172
over 2019
18,780
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Edina’s Building
Inspections Division is on course for a record-breaking year.
Building Inspections administers the 2020 Minnesota Building Code
to ensure the safety and integrity of the building structures in
Edina. Here are the numbers for the first 10 months of 2020.
– COMPILED BY DAWN WILLS
Roof permits, many
due to the hailstorms
in August. That
compares to 314 in 2019.
Solar-powered system
permits – up nearly
60 percent!
Staff members to
process, review and
inspect permits.
1,821
21
15
New apartment/
condo buildings under
construction, which will
bring 422 new housing
units to the community
5
Edina Police Strengthen Community with Social Work Partnership with Hennepin County
New Part-time Position is Shared with City of Richfield
BY KATY KOCH CAMPBELL
A sometimes elusive piece of police
work is the connection of social services.
Through a partnership with Hennepin
County, Edina Police Department now has
a part-time social worker to help bridge
that gap and strengthen the community.
Social Worker Donna Nelson is employed
by Hennepin County Human Services &
Public Health Department and serves the
cities of Edina and Richfield. She receives
case referrals and since she started in
September has been
handling about 20
cases per month in
Edina, considered
typical for a Police
Department of Edina’s
size, said Lt. Tim Olson.
These are largely
mental health-related
cases, not criminal
related or matters
involving adult or child
protection services.
Nelson attends department briefings and
follows up with referrals during normal
business hours.
No two referrals are the same. If the police
are called to the same address multiple
times by someone experiencing paranoia,
officers might refer the case to Nelson
to determine if there is need for care
services. If someone is trying to get help
for a senior family member who is refusing
services, Nelson might be called in to
assist. Or the family might not be aware of
the extent of their relative’s challenges or
what resources are available to help, Olson
explained.
It’s important to note that when a case is
assigned to the social worker, health care
individual privacy laws kick into place so
the Police Department doesn’t receive
followup information on what services are
being provided to that person; Hennepin
County takes it from there. The social
worker assesses strengths and identifies
needs of the individual with the goal
of creating “a more positive outcome
for the individual and the community,”
said Cynthia Arkema-O’Harra, Program
Manager for Hennepin County’s Criminal
Justice Behavioral Health Initiatives and
Chemical Health.
The adult behavioral needs assessed are
medical, mental health, substance abuse,
and also housing and food needs that
might be met by public assistance. It may
be a “livability crime” that put the person
in contact with police: stealing food or
needing a place to sleep, for example,
O’Harra said. Individuals may talk with
social workers when they have refused the
help of police.
The desired outcomes are very hopeful.
“Restoring the individual to health will
reduce recidivism, police calls can go down
and overall, this establishes a healthy and
safe community,” O’Harra said.
Hennepin County has social workers
embedded with local police departments
in other shared partnership contracts,
including Plymouth with Maple Grove
and Hopkins with St. Louis Park. One also
serves Bloomington.
For more information, contact O’Harra,
612-879-3588 or
cynthia.arkema-oharra@hennepin.us.
Donna Nelson
Submitted Photo
3City of Edina EdinaMN.gov
Challenge the Stigma
Sharing facts and accurate information
about COVID-19 helps challenge rumors
and stereotypes that have been negatively
associated with racial and cultural groups
or people wearing facemasks. There have
been incidents of discrimination, bias and
hate reported around the world during the
pandemic.
If you believe you are a victim of a hate
crime because of fear around COVID-19,
contact the Edina Police Department, 952-
826-1610. If you feel you have experienced
discrimination within the City’s services,
facilities or institution, contact Race & Equity
Coordinator Heidi Lee, 952-826-1622.
BY DEBBIE TOWNSEND
When Edina residents turn on the tap to
fill a glass or take a shower, they don’t
think, “Is the water clean?” or “How
much does it cost?”
It’s given less thought than when
someone opens a can of pop or picks up
a latte.
Of course, if pop came out of your tap
instead of water, your quarterly bill would
be about 1,500 times higher. So might
your dentist bill.
Water is a bargain in comparison to just
about anything else we purchase. It is
on-demand to homes and costs roughly
$2.50 per 1,000 gallons in Edina for
usage. Utility bills also include other
set fees, such as for the meter. The
usage charges and fees pay for water
treatment, testing and all the pipes to
get it to your home’s system, along with
maintenance and replacement of all the
equipment and pipes.
“The entire utility infrastructure is
essentially paid for by user rates,” said
Public Works Coordinator Dave Goergen.
A 2020 study from Ehlers Public Finance
Advisors found Edina’s water fees
What’s the Value of Water? A Lot – For Very Little Cost
Gallon of Milk Costs Roughly the Same as 1,000 Gallons of Water
remain in line with other surrounding
communities.
The average Edina home uses about
13,800 gallons of water in a winter
quarter, according to the Public Works
Department. If you combine residential
and commercial use, it’s 112 gallons per
day for each person living or working in
Edina. That’s below the national average
of 176 gallons, according to the Value of
Water Campaign.
Inside the home, 17 percent of your water
is for showering, 27 percent for the toilet,
22 percent for the washing machine and
15 percent goes down sink drains from
washing hands, rinsing dishes and other
tasks, according to the Value of Water
Campaign. The rest is for various uses or is
lost to leaks.
Do the math and everything from
brushing your teeth to doing laundry costs
the average person in Edina 28 cents a day
for water. You can have about 20 days of
water for all your needs for the cost of a
Turtle Mocha at Caribou Coffee. While
the second one might be tastier, water
is essential to survive – and to make that
mocha.
Read about Edina’s drinking water quality
at EdinaMN.gov/WaterReports or for
more information, contact Goergen at
952-826-0312 or dgoergen@EdinaMN.gov.
Glass of tap water Less than ¼ of 1 cent
Can of LaCroix
Glass of generic
bottled drinking water
Glass of milk
38 cents
10 cents
28 cents
Cup of Caribou
Coffee
Can of Coca-Cola 48 cents
Beverage Cost
Comparison
$2.39
Edina COVID-19 Resource Hotline
952-826-0370
Resources for businesses, residents
and seniors can be found at
BetterTogetherEdina.org
EdinaMN.gov/coronavirus
Sign up for City Extra emails at
EdinaMN.gov/CityExtra
Sign up for text notifications by
texting EDINA to 57838
Stay Informed About the City’s Response to COVID-19
Stay Healthy
Wash your hands with hot, soapy water
for at least 20 seconds; cover your coughs
and sneezes; wear a mask when in public;
practice social distancing; get tested and
stay home if you are sick.
Stay Informed
To get reliable and updated information
about COVID-19, refer to the Minnesota
Department of Health, CDC or your health
provider.
952-927-8861 | mail@EdinaMN.gov City of Edina EdinaMN.gov
Jackson, Pierce
Elected to City Council
Voters Give Hovland
Another Term as Mayor
Carolyn Jackson and James Pierce will join
the Edina City Council in January.
Jackson and Pierce were the top vote-
getters in the election for two seats on
the City Council. Mayor Jim Hovland ran
unopposed and was re-elected to another
four-year term. All three will take the oath
of office at the Council’s first meeting of
2021 on Jan. 5.
Other candidates for City Council were
Josh Ahlberg, Rhonda Bland, Ukasha
Dakane, Parinaz Kassemi and Janet Kitui.
Incumbents Mary Brindle and Mike Fischer
did not seek reelection.
Edina saw higher voter turnout than
ever before, with about 90 percent of
registered voters – 40,250 residents –
casting ballots. Of them, 75 percent voted
early in the General Election.
The City Council will next meet
7 p.m. Dec. 1, 6 p.m. Dec. 7 and 7 p.m.
Dec. 15. The Dec. 7 meeting will consist
of public hearings for proposed 2021
street reconstruction projects. Outgoing
Council Members Brindle and Fischer will
be honored for their work at the City
Council’s Dec. 15 work session.
4
City of Edina Goals
Strong Foundation: Maintain
physical assets and infrastructure.
Reliable Service: Maintain service
levels that best meet the needs of
the community.
Livable City: Plan for connected
and sustainable development.
Better Together: Foster an
inclusive and engaged community.
BY DAN REISIG
Public safety personnel in Edina and
surrounding cities will soon have access
to better training and facilities, thanks
to the recent bonding bill passed by the
Minnesota State Legislature.
Among the many infrastructure
improvements included in the $1.87 billion
bill, a total of $1 million was approved for
the South Metro Public Safety Training
Facility (SMPSTF). Located in the southwest
corner of the city at 7525 Braemar Blvd.,
the SMPSTF provides high-quality, cost-
effective training and development for
public safety organizations through shared
resources.
The SMPSTF is jointly owned by the cities
of Edina, Eden Prairie and Bloomington
along with the Metropolitan Airports
Commission. Beyond those jurisdictions,
other agencies at the federal, state and
local levels benefit from its offerings. In
addition to specialized training for law
enforcement and public safety, members
of the general public can use the gun
range as well as take firearms safety
classes.
As part of the bond funding, the SMPSTF
will erect a new tactical training building
on the site of the current K-9 training
park. The large, pole barn-style building
will have movable walls, catwalks and
stairwells on one side, while the other
side will be dedicated to open space for
vehicles to pull in and conduct training.
The long-sought project will allow for
public safety personnel to conduct training
year-round in all weather conditions.
“This new facility is going to give law
enforcement an opportunity to do reality-
based training exercises that they can’t
currently do in our main building,” said
SMPSTF Executive Director Debra Fields.
“They can set up a variety of training
exercises to prepare them for situations
they may face in their daily work.”
Construction will begin in spring 2021
with completion slated for later in the
year. Fields hopes that training inside the
new facility will be underway by winter.
There will be no operational impact on
the current SMPSTF, though the displaced
K-9 training area will be relocated in the
future.
For more information about the SMPSTF,
visit policeandfire.training.
Training Facility to Add Tactical Building Thanks to State Bonding Bill
Construction Begins in Spring on New $1 Million Indoor
Structure
The South Metro Public Safety Training Facility will add a
new $1 million tactical training structure in the existing
dog training area, left of the fire tower. File Photo
CITY OF EDINA
4801 WEST 50TH STREET
EDINA, MN 55424
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