HomeMy WebLinkAboutAbout Town 20212021 Annual Report of the City of Edina
AboutTown
AboutTown
2021 Annual Report Circulation 25,000
Official Publication of the EdinaMN.gov City of Edina, Minnesota 4801 West 50th Street Edina, Minnesota 55424 952-826-0359
Editor: Jennifer Bennerotte
Designer: Katie Laux
Contributing Writers: Ricardo Acosta, Jennifer Bennerotte, Kaitlin Gault, David Katz, Dan Reisig and Debbie Townsend
Publisher: City of Edina
Copyright 2021 by City of Edina, 4801 W. 50th St., Edina, MN 55424.
Table Of Contents
A Word From the Mayor ..........................................................1
Rededicated ‘Yancey Park’ Honors Remarkable
Black Pioneers ...........................................................................2
It’s Not Only Neighborly ... It’s The Law .............................9
City Nears Completion of Initial Racial Equity
Implementation Plan .............................................................11
Council Members Reflect on Their First Year..................14
As Edina Moves Forward, Fire Department Sees
Need for Changes ...................................................................17
Council Approves City’s First Climate Action Plan ......20
New Leaders Bring Diverse Experience and
Perspectives to Edina ............................................................24
COVID-19 Didn’t Halt Progress on 2020-21
Initiatives and Projects ..........................................................28
Green Fleet Policy Adds Electric and Hybrid
Vehicles to City .......................................................................32
Community Policing in Edina: 2021 and Beyond ..........34
City’s Affordable Housing Programs Make Progress in 2021 ......................................................................36
Paving a New Way to Pay for Street Reconstruction .......39
Donors Contribute Over $135,000 to City in 2021 ..........42
2022 At a Glance ......................................................................44
The Last Word .........................................................................46
City of Edina Facilities ............................................................48
Strong FoundationCITY GOALS:Better TogetherReliable Service Livable City
The About Town cover photo by Suzanne Wortham-Ressemann features the Edina Theatre, which is tentatively scheduled to reopen March 15.
Suzie Haugland of JSG Properties, owner of the building, has leased the theater at 3911 W. 50th St. to Mann Theatres to revive operations with a unique mix of art films, popular films and live events.
Among other things, Steve Mann said he plans to completely renovate the concession areas, build a bar on the upper level, replace all seating with recliners, install new screens and audio equipment and repair the sign, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Housing & Redevelopment Authority in 2021 pledged a $200,000 grant in American Rescue Plan Act funds to JSG Properties and a $300,000 forgivable loan to Mann Theatres for brick-and-mortar improvements to the building.
On the Cover
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Translations
A Word From the Mayor
The world will never be just as it was before the worldwide outbreak of the novel coronavirus. From how we think about handwashing and respiratory hygiene to how we conduct business, the COVID-19 pandemic will have lasting impacts far into the future.
This issue of About Town is a first-of-its-kind annual report for the City of Edina. It includes stories, charts and images highlighting the City’s work the past year. It’s important to note that many of these projects were planned before we even heard of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Each project was executed during the pandemic, with staff sometimes working with remote teams and often finding ways to engage with residents in new ways.
The City developed multiple initiatives and strategies to tackle the challenges presented by COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021. Among them:
Community Outreach and Resources • Resource hotline, 952-826-0370• Online COVID-19 Dashboard• Memorial displays of paper hearts to honor Edina residents who died of COVID-19• “Mayor’s Minute” weekly video program with COVID-19 and other important information for residents• “Clean Hands Across Edina” free hand sanitizer distribution
Internal Operations• Regular leadership briefings• Establishing ways for staff to work remotely and provide the same services to the community• Developing safety and scheduling standards for those needing to work on site• Adapting to changing health guidelines, executive orders and needs of the community and staff
City Services• Virtual meetings and hearings until the Governor’s executive order ended• Live call-in opportunities for City Council, Housing & Redevelopment Authority and Planning Commission meetings and some “Town Talks”• Online appointment scheduling• Expanded liquor delivery to meet the increase in demand• Adapting services such as building inspections to ensure community and staff safety
In 2022, the City will continue to study how to best provide services in our “new normal” and the space we need to do so. Along the way, we will continue to pass on the latest COVID-19 health and safety recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Minnesota Department of Health and our partners at Bloomington Public Health regarding COVID-19.
Be well.
James B. HovlandMayor
2021 ANNUAL REPORT • 1
2 • ABOUT TOWN
Rededicated ‘Yancey Park’ Honors
Remarkable Black Pioneers
By David Katz
According to his 1905 obituary, Edina pioneer Beverly Claiborne (B.C.) Yancey commanded the “respect and admiration of all who knew him.” While it is tempting to dismiss such posthumous praise as embellished, the historical record from the community’s earliest days speaks truth to this sterling characterization.
Two anecdotes from 1888 are particularly telling. In that year, voters in the western half of Richfield Township moved to secede and form their own village.
Several contentious meetings preceded the December vote that officially birthed Edina. Earlier that fall, residents gathered to discuss the findings of a committee appointed to conduct fact-finding around the incorporation of “Westfield.” (By that point, a motion had already carried to name the village in relation to “parent” Richfield.) Yancey’s neighbor Henry Brown led a push to reopen that debate and approve runner-up “Edina” as the community’s name.
Yancey’s friend James A. Bull – one of several strong voices opposed to that name – tried to quash this move with a motion for immediate adjournment. Several members of the presenting committee then threatened to resign if a “gag rule” prevailed. Such an impasse would have derailed the incorporation process.
At this pivotal moment, 60-year-old Yancey stood up and addressed his peers. While the meeting minutes do not record his exact words, it is clear that his cool-headed, measured arguments and the esteem he was held in allowed him to rein in the “boisterous” meeting.
Yancey’s peers demonstrated their respect for and confidence in the man once again that December – this time, in a quantifiable way. Forty-five residents – a Photo courtesy of Edina Historical SocietyYancey patriarch Beverly Claiborne (B.C.) fought in the Civil War alongside the storied 4th U.S. Colored Infantry Regiment.
2021 ANNUAL REPORT • 3
comfortable majority of the eligible electorate – elected Yancey as Edina’s first Justice of the Peace.
At first pass, these stories may not seem particularly noteworthy. Between 1860 and 1890, Minnesota’s population grew six-fold. New towns incorporated each year. In nearly every case, revered local leaders like Yancey wielded some outsized influence.
However, unlike other local luminaries (most of whom came from Irish, Scandinavian or “Yankee” stock), the large and prosperous Yancey family was Black.
The family’s prominence contrasts sharply with widespread prejudice against Black people in most parts of the country in the years following the Civil War. Their story is more remarkable still given Edina’s later history of racial discrimination.
B.C.’s Early YearsB.C. Yancey was born in southern Ohio on Feb. 12, 1828. Extant records from Butler County, just north of Cincinnati, indicate that he married Nancy Jane Bass while the pair was in their early 20s. They had six children together before Nancy’s untimely death.
Given the economy of the area and the patriarch’s later skill with agricultural pursuits, the family almost undoubtedly made their living through farming.
When the Civil War broke out in 1861, approximately 5,000 Black men from Ohio joined in the fight against slavery. As part of the storied 4th U.S. Colored Infantry Regiment, Yancey likely saw as much action as any of them. His division participated in the bloodied and
protracted Richmond-Petersburg campaign in Virginia and the siege of Fort Fisher in North Carolina.
Ellen Bruce YanceyB.C. Yancey married his second wife, Ellen Bruce, in 1870.
Ellen’s early life is difficult to reconstruct in great detail, but extant records offer tantalizing crumbs. Born in or around the District of Columbia in 1832, she purportedly perfected her cooking skills working in the White House kitchens during the administration of either James Buchanan or Abraham Lincoln.
In memoirs and oral interviews, later generations of Edina schoolchildren readily attested to Ellen’s talents. As students walked by her door on their way to school, the jovial matriarch regularly intercepted them, offering pancakes in the morning and cookies in the afternoon.
It was by no means their only point of intersection with her. Although she received little or no schooling herself, Ellen valued education highly. She co-founded Edina’s first PTA, and served as its first president.
(continued on next page)File photoB.C. Yancey’s peers elected him as one of Edina’s first two
Justices of the Peace – and by a comfortable margin, at that.
4 • ABOUT TOWN
Setting Down RootsEllen’s prominence in early school affairs and her husband’s foundational roles in local government beg the question of how the family came to Edina.
Strong circumstantial evidence suggests they resettled in Richfield Township after encouragement from progressive Quaker and Episcopalian families in the area. (B.C.’s friend James A. Bull, who lobbied so strongly against “Edina” in 1888, was a particularly prominent proponent.)
At any rate, the Yanceys were not alone. In the 1990s, historian Deborah Morse-Kahn combed through Census rolls and concluded that 17 Black families called Edina home for some period between 1860 and 1930. They carried surnames like Lucas, Stoddard and Washington – names derived, as often as not, from the slave-owning families from which they were now and forever free.
Most moved on within just a few years.
Yancey Fruit Farm ‘Equal To Any’B.C. and Ellen ultimately settled their growing family on a 68-acre farm in today’s Grandview Neighborhood – centered near the junction of today’s Vernon and Eden avenues. We can catch intimate glimpses of the family’s life there courtesy of sparse but illuminating diaries maintained by B.C., which are now preserved at the Edina Historical Society. He documented several hardscrabble years, during which the family took out at least one loan and regularly sent a hired hand seven miles into Minneapolis to collect free food scraps for their livestock. In time, though, the Yanceys emerged as one of the community’s more prosperous families. Photo courtesy of Edina Historical SocietyEllen Yancey established Edina’s first parent-teacher
association and held leadership roles within Edina’s Minnehaha
Grange No. 398.
2021 ANNUAL REPORT • 5
Like many of their contemporaries, the household split their land and efforts among multiple crops. However, they made their reputation – and most of their revenue – as berry farmers. The Appeal, the state’s most prominent African-American newspaper, recorded that: “Mr. Yancey intends making his fruit farm equal to any in the country.”
If you find it difficult to imagine the bygone day when berries represented a key cash crop for Edina, take a look at our neighbor to the west. The City of Hopkins proudly maintains its historical reputation as “Raspberry Capital of the World” – even hosting a popular berry festival each
summer. It’s a deserved claim. At that industry’s height, Hopkins boasted 800 acres of raspberry bushes (to say nothing of other berry crops). While commercial berry farming has not left the same imprint on Saint Louis Park and Edina, both fed into the same growing Minneapolis market.
Susie Lankford Shorter, a prominent educator and philanthropist from Ohio, visited Edina in 1891. Her day trip to the Yanceys’ expansive property offers our most vivid vignette of life and work there.
“… To me it was a beautiful sight, almost daily 75 or 100 men, women and children picking berries while Master Charlie [B.C.’s son] bossed the patch, keeping harmony throughout. The yield per week averages 2,400 quarts.” (For context, the 1890 Census listed Edina as home to fewer than 600 permanent residents.)
Groundbreaking Grange LeadersB.C. and Ellen Yancey combined their aptitude in agriculture with their passion for civic engagement through Edina’s Minnehaha Grange No. 398. Both are listed as founding members of the chapter.
In a nutshell, the Grange is best described as a farming-based fraternal organization. Its mission is to promote the economic and political interests of farmers. During the village’s formative years, Grange Hall No. 398 doubled as a social and administrative nexus point. (For example, the building played host to those “boisterous” debates around the establishment of Edina in 1888. It also functioned as the original Village Hall.)
(continued on next page)Photo courtesy of Edina Historical SocietyAmong other enterprises, the Yancey family operated a large-scale berry farm on acreage in today’s Grandview Neighborhood.
6 • ABOUT TOWN
B.C.’s impassioned, pro-agriculture orations brought him to the attention of William Streeter Chowen of nearby Minnetonka Mills. At the time, the latter held the distinction as Master (effectively, president) of the State Grange of Minnesota. Chowen encouraged Yancey to run for the prestigious, state-level post of Lecturer. Yancey obliged, securing that post in 1893, 1895 and 1897.
According to the Oliver Hudson Kelley Grange, this assignment made Yancey the first Black person in the country to be elected to a state-level Grange officer position!
Ellen, too, was a constant presence at Grange functions. From its earliest days, the movement espoused strong egalitarian principles, and Ellen once described the hall as “the place in the world that has made me an equal.” A gifted singer and instrumentalist, she was a natural choice for the post of Chaplain.
Minnehaha Grange No. 398 slowly waned in influence after the turn of the century, as the community began to assume its current suburban character. However, the Yanceys’ trailblazing relationship with the Grange would have a fitting coda in 1934.
In that year, the fraternity’s lease expired on the original site of the hall (near the intersection of West 50th Street and Wooddale Avenue). One of B.C. and Ellen’s daughters volunteered a nearby parcel as the building’s new home, ensuring its preservation and continuity of service. It retained its role as Edina Village Hall for another decade.File photoCharles Yancey, son of B.C. and Ellen, served on the Edina school board and as Village Clerk, before eventually resettling his family on the western fringe of Hennepin County.
2021 ANNUAL REPORT • 7
Development and DiscriminationB.C. Yancey 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.
For a time, the Yancey influence on local affairs continued through their children – who shared their parents’ sense of civic duty and penchant for leadership roles. Especially noteworthy is son Charles Yancey, who served on the Edina school board and as Village Clerk. He would eventually attain the post of Registrar of Deeds for Hennepin County.
Charles and wife Helen (neé Watkins) eventually resettled their family in Independence Township, on the far western edge of Hennepin County. Charles’ sister, Maggie (neé Yancey) Johnson, and her family followed suit. In fact, nearly every Lucas, Washington and Yancey would decamp from Edina by 1932.
While it would be an oversimplification to attribute this exodus to any one factor, there is no doubting that the rapid and regulated suburbanization of Edina played a significant role. The platting of the Country Club District, which accounted for fully half of the Village’s growth between 1920 and 1930, illustrates how regulation changed Edina’s interracial character.
Samuel Thorpe, the developer behind Country Club, forced homogeneity through the use of racial covenants. As the name suggests, these contract clauses explicitly forbade any nonwhite family from taking up residence in Thorpe’s suburban utopia.
Although such stipulations did not hold true for the whole of the Village, the widespread acceptance of overtly racist practices like these made the descendants of Edina’s early Black settlers feel distinctly unwelcome. It is a troubling legacy that the City of Edina is still grappling with to this day.
Midcentury Investments Seeded Garden Park In 2018, a special Race & Equity Task Force presented the City Council with a list of 21 recommendations to address and reverse decades of exclusion and discrimination. High on that list, the task force encouraged the City to “name a public facility in the Grandview area” after the community’s largely forgotten forebearers: the Yanceys.
It is an idea with plenty of precedent. Other key families from Edina’s early days, including those of B.C.’s friends Henry Brown and William Chowen, are already immortalized in the names of neighborhood parks.
Nineteen-acre Garden Park, located south of Vernon Avenue at the convergence of the Grandview, Highlands, Melody Lake and Countryside neighborhoods, quickly emerged as a top contender.
In one sense, the story of Garden Park dates to October 1956, when the ribbon cutting on Southdale Center heralded a new era of growth for Edina. As historian Roger Harrold notes, the City already “lagged behind in the development of its parks and recreational facilities.” Hoping to address that issue before the expected population boom heightened demand (and drove up land costs), the Village asked residents to approve a parks-specific referendum. On Feb. 5, 1957, voters duly authorized an $850,000 bond.
(continued on next page)
8 • ABOUT TOWN
By 1965, the number of parks, gardens and recreation facilities across Edina had more than tripled. Garden Park – named after one of the many new subdivisions that had prompted that citywide investment – was just one beneficiary.
Harrison, Brauer and Rippel, the firm responsible for the design of Braemar Golf Course, played a leading role in the layout of Garden Park during the same period. A cost proposal put before the Park Board on May 6, 1963, outlined a $65,750 investment to furnish everything from topsoil to a fire hydrant to baseball backstops. For reasons of topography – Garden Park lies south of the aptly named Highlands Neighborhood – drainage and leveling considerations accounted for much of that price tag.
Fortunately, due to the simultaneous development of so many public assets, the Village benefited from economies of scale. For example, minutes from the Park Board’s meeting that April detail the bulk pricing of 47 pieces of equipment earmarked for 12 different playgrounds.
Like all of Edina’s parks (the number now stands at 45), Garden Park saw reinvestments in the ensuing decades. Wear and tear played a role, but so did changes in residents’ leisure interests. As it stands today, Garden Park boasts tennis and pickleball courts, four soccer pitches, a gazebo and more, but, ironically, not a garden.
Yanceys RememberedThe Race & Equity Task Force’s proposal to memorialize the Yanceys in some tangible way found support with the Parks & Recreation Commission and the City’s standing Human Rights & Relations Commission. While other naming opportunities were duly considered, Garden Park remained the most viable candidate.
On Oct. 7, 2020, the City Council voted unanimously to rename the 19-acre parcel “Yancey Park.” The park was formally dedicated Oct. 4, 2021, with signs sharing the story of the Yancey family.
In the words of the Task Force, this important symbolic step helps to dispel “the idea that Edina ‘has always’ been a white enclave. That is not the case.”
Background information for this piece came from materials maintained by the Edina Historical Society, State Grange of Minnesota, Cincinnati Historical Society and National Civil War Museum. Photo by Dan ReisigMayor Jim Hovland, Race & Equity Task Force Co-Chair Jessi Kingston, Human Rights & Relations Commissioner Jasmine Stringer Moore and Council Member James Pierce were among those on hand to celebrate the dedication of Yancey Park (formerly Garden Park).
2021 ANNUAL REPORT • 9
It’s Not Only Neighborly,
It’s The Law
The Law: Sec. 10-221. Intent. The intent of this article is that a permanent mode of protecting and regulating the living conditions of [residents] of the city be established; and that uniform standards be established and applicable for all rental dwellings in the city ...
Sec. 10-723. - License required - It is unlawful to operate a rental dwelling in the city without first having obtained a license from the City Manager. Licenses are renewed on an annual basis.
Sec. 10-728. - Display of license - Rental licenses must be posted in every rental dwelling. The license for each apartment building must be conspicuously posted at or near the front entrance, a public corridor, hallway or lobby of the apartment building for which it is issued.
Sec. 10-732. Enforcement: (1) The City Manager is authorized to make inspections to enforce this subchapter. (2) All designated agents authorized to inspect have the authority to enter, at all reasonable times, any rental dwelling. Prior to entering a rental dwelling, the designated agent must first present proper credentials and request entry.
What It Means: Since 2019, the City has had a rental inspections program in place to protect the living conditions of those who rent homes in Edina. Those who rent or plan to rent residential space must have
a license. Any rental that has been converted from another dwelling will be inspected to ensure code compliance, with that fee in addition to the annual rental license fee.
The owner and tenants should work to keep the property up to code.
The property owner must keep a list of all authorized tenants and have that list available for the City to review at any time. By law, the property owner and tenants must have the property available for inspection, though the Health Department schedules times that work for both the tenants and the owner or management company.
For more information, contact the City’s Health Division at 952-826-0370.
Learn Local Laws
Rental Housing
Photo by Suzanne RessemannElena Roberts, Abdullahi Ahmed and Aidrous Ali make up the City’s housing rental inspections staff.
10 • ABOUT TOWN
The Law: Sec. 8-89. - Any owner of a dog over six months of age shall secure a license for such dog from the City.
Sec. 8-90. - Proof of rabies vaccination must be presented at the time of initial licensing and each subsequent license renewal.
Sec. 8-92. - Receipts and tags - Upon payment of the license fee required … the City shall deliver an original receipt to the owner and retain a duplicate of such receipt. At the time of initial licensing, the City shall also deliver a metallic tag to the owner of the dog.
(1) The owner shall cause the tag to be fastened to the collar of the dog with a permanent metal fastening in a manner so that the tag may be easily seen by the officers of the City.
What It Means: All dogs age 6 months or older in Edina must be licensed. Proof of vaccination is required to obtain a license. The metal license tag must be easily visible on the dog’s collar and worn at all times.
Dog licenses expire annually Dec. 31. For more information or to buy a dog license online, visit EdinaMN.gov/DogLicenseForm.
– Compiled by Ricardo Acosta
Learn Local Laws
Dog Licenses
File PhotoAll City of Edina dog licenses are good for the calendar year
and expire on Dec. 31.
2021 ANNUAL REPORT • 11
City Nears Completion of Initial
Racial Equity Implementation Plan
It is important that the City of Edina help foster a community that is welcoming and inclusive to all who live, work and spend time in the community. In 2018, the City began work on a Racial Equity Implementation Plan based on recommendations of a community task force. The major initiatives of the plan and our progress to date are summarized below.Accountability & Data CollectionHire a Race & Equity Coordinator, whose accountabilities include oversight of the Racial Equity Implementation Plan.
Include racial equity goals in department work plans.
Provide a racial equity advancement annual report to the Human Rights & Relations Commission and City Council.
Train all City staff in racial equity.
Investigate options for collecting more race and other demographic data to inform Police policies and procedures.
Maintain a database on the number and location of affordable housing units in Edina.
Investigate options for collecting additional race and other demographic data during Parks & Recreation registration processes to better understand program utilization.
Publish the Police Department’s public version of its policy manual on the website.
Evaluate the Quality of Life Survey questions to elicit relevant information about all City services around race and equity.
For more information on the City’s Racial Equity Implementation Plan, visit EdinaMN.gov or contact Race & Equity Manager Heidi Lee, 952-826-1622 or HLee@EdinaMN.gov
Complete Ongoing In Progress
12 • ABOUT TOWN Employee Training & DiversitySet goals to increase the percentage of full-time staff who are people of color and/or fluent in a language other than English.
Develop a diversity recruiting strategy for City employees that identifies specific actions to be taken on an annual basis.
Assess and revise job descriptions to include racial equity competencies, as positions become available.
Research the City’s participation in, or establishment of, a program like Pathway to Policing to develop future candidates for careers in local law enforcement for people of color.
Evaluate the feasibility of partnering with Edina, Hopkins and Richfield school districts to highlight career pathways in local government.
Investigate community incentives to help attract a diverse pool of candidates.City Facilities & ServicesHonor Black Edina pioneers Beverly Claiborne (B.C.) and Ellen Yancey for their contribution to the community by naming a public facility after them.
Review the existing Come Home 2 Edina program and marketing materials to families of color.
Train employees on how to support first-time guests at City facilities.
Ensure artwork and décor at City facilities reflect diversity of race and culture.
Ensure City facilities have wayfinding signage and printed materials in multiple languages.
Train staff on scholarship fund availability to ensure residents are provided the opportunity to apply for financial assistance.
Identify if barriers exist to utilize Parks & Recreation programs.
Complete Ongoing In Progress
2021 ANNUAL REPORT • 13
Complete Ongoing In Progress
Development & Enforcement of PoliciesDevelop a Citywide procedure and policy for responding to complaints that could be racially motivated.
Review policies for plain language. Rewrite policies, as needed, during the normal course of their review.
Review the City’s Affordable Housing Policy annually to address current conditions and needs.
Develop goals and policies to increase the number of affordable housing units and rental units where housing assistance vouchers can be used.
Review Edina zoning regulations to change or remove language that may contribute to racial disparities.
Analyze policies related to external and independent criminal investigations and prosecutions for officer-involved shootings, in-custody death incidents and use of force.
Ensure associations and vendors that use or rent City facilities are operating in accordance with the City’s expectation regarding racial equity and inclusion. Post this policy at each City facility.Communications & Community EngagementDevelop a more strategic approach to community engagement efforts and task a City employee with overseeing/directing community engagement work.
Create a standing “Feedback Group” of volunteers to help with strategic and quick racial equity feedback on City communication efforts.
Develop a Limited English Proficiency Policy.
Conduct a review of the process for posting the Police Department’s Crime Report online with individual names.
Add Metro Transit link to facility websites.
Develop alternate ways to register for programs or reserve space in City facilities.
Evaluate and improve the Police Department’s current community outreach programs.
Develop communication strategies to publicize and promote the Police Department through communication methods, including social media.
14 • ABOUT TOWN
Council Members Reflect on Their
First Year
By Kaitlin Gault
City Council Members Carolyn Jackson and James Pierce just wrapped up their first year of service with a shared passion for the Edina community.
After serving on the Energy & Environment Commission, Jackson ran for office because of her interest in local government.
“I’ve always been a big fan of the City. … It’s run extremely well, the assets are excellent and we have a wonderful population of people,” she said. “When the opportunity to be a leader arose, it lined up with my lifelong interest in city government and appreciation of the community I live in.”
Pierce joined to make a difference.
“I ran because I wanted to make a difference in the community – from how to solve affordable housing to climate change to how to be more inclusive,” he said. “I felt like I could help and think about different ways to approach some of those problems.”
The City Council is responsible for the efficient operation of the city government through policies and ordinances that are carried out by the Council-appointed City Manager. The Council is responsible for budgeting, taxation and management of City property.
A lot of the group’s work is reviewing applications from developers for proposed projects in the community, but the City Council accomplished much more in 2021, including the adoption of a Climate Action Plan and new street funding mechanism, support of new affordable housing programs in the community, and dedication of Yancey Park. The group also laid the groundwork for infrastructure improvements to reduce flooding in the Morningside Neighborhood and eventual redevelopment of the former Public Works site at 5146 Eden Ave., a problem which the Council has been grappling with for years.
Jackson said she looks at proposed policy changes through lenses of both race and equity and climate change.
“Racism and climate change were policy priorities, and they certainly overlap and inform our work,” she said. “When the Council looks at development and transportation, those are things we need to look at through race and equity and climate change lenses as we think about how to best prepare for the future.”
The first year brought a few challenges, too, including learning how to be “in the middle‘’ of residents and City government as a first-year Council Member.
“Working on the Street Assessment Policy was one of the biggest challenges during the first year,” said Jackson. “It was a challenge to be responsible for making a big decision that you know no matter what would leave some residents unhappy. The Street Reconstruction Task Force assisted with the challenge by recommending options before we ultimately approved it.”
2021 ANNUAL REPORT • 15
Pierce echoed those comments and said it also took some time to learn the complexities of being an elected official.
“I have approached things by meeting with neighbors and understanding what their concerns are; to listen to residents while also advocating for the City,” he said. “I have learned a lot about the governance role of the City Council. Once you start having to make decisions, you realize it’s a lot more complex than just parks and streets.”
A highlight for Pierce was seeing movement on the old Public Works site, an area at Eden and Arcadia avenues that has been vacant for a decade and has seen numerous project proposals without an approval.
“At a City Council meeting, I asked about the old Public Works site and said I didn’t know why we kept talking about it because it’ll never get approved due to not having a construct in place to make it advance for Council approval,” said Pierce. “From there, we had a work session and another meeting before coming up with a different construct to essentially sell part of a parcel to an affordable housing developer to help fund a park or attraction in that area. It’ll be really exciting to get final approval on the project.”
When it comes to priorities for the future, both hope to see significant improvements to the Grandview Neighborhood, increased affordable housing, and reviewing policies through climate change and equity lenses. Jackson would also like to see continued improvement to how the City communicates and engages with residents.
“I’m really excited to see the things happening in the Grandview area,” said Jackson, “including development at Perkins and the old Public Works site and transportation improvements to make streets more pedestrian- and bike-friendly. I am excited about making the Grandview area feel like central Edina and increasing the ability to walk and bike to improve the sense of connectedness.”
Pierce echoed Jackson’s sentiments.
“We are seeing the socioeconomic impact of different classes of residents being impacted differently by the
Carolyn Jackson File PhotoJames PierceFile Photo(continued on next page)
16 • ABOUT TOWN
pandemic as well as the ability to obtain affordable housing ownership and rentals. We need to address both to sustain our community,” he said. “We are also just starting to see some fairly serious impacts from the climate, so it is also really important to address and do everything we can to change the trend.”
Both Council Members hope they made the community proud during their first year and appreciate the dedication from engaged residents and their fellow Council Members and staff.
“I hope I am making Edina proud,” said Pierce. “With every decision, I am principled in that I remind myself
that I am a resident first. So, while I may not live in the Morningside or Cornelia neighborhoods, if we are making a decision that impacts that area, I go over and try to think as a resident first to make sure I understand all sides of an issue.”
Jackson agreed and hopes residents know their input is valued.
“We have to balance many things as a Council, and I hope people realize their input is so important,” she said. “Because while we have legal and monetary restraints, it’s so important to know what residents and businesses value because it’s all about that,” she said. “It’s also been really helpful to have experience on the Council and see issues through each other’s eyes because we all see it a little different. Everyone on the Council is very dedicated, and you can’t hope for more than that.”
Jackson and Pierce value hearing from residents through emails and phone calls and are always willing to meet in person, too. Contact Jackson at cjackson@EdinaMN.gov or 952-833-9547. Contact Pierce at jpierce@EdinaMN.gov or 952-833-9548.
New Council Members Carolyn Jackson and James Pierce
participated in Edina’s Independence Day Parade.File Photo
2021 ANNUAL REPORT • 17
As Edina Moves Forward, Fire Department Sees Need
for Changes
By Dan Reisig
Edina’s fire service has been a constant for more than 80 years, but as the demands and priorities of the community have changed, so, too, has the Fire Department’s needs.
The department has grown significantly since its start as a volunteer company housed out of an old garage at the intersection of Eden and Brookside avenues.
Now, more than 40 full-time employees serve the 50,000-plus residents of the city, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They work primarily at Fire Station 1, 6250 Tracy Ave., located near the intersection of Minnesota State Highways 100 and 62 in the center of the city.
“To me, the commitment to serve the residents means ensuring we continue the service we’ve already provided and looking to the future to make sure there is never a failure in system,” said Fire Chief Andrew Slama.
Recent trends and studies have shown just how much the service has changed, though. As Edina’s population grows older, the demand for emergency medical service (EMS) and rescue calls has grown, while proportionately, the number of fire calls has decreased.
Edina staffs its fire and rescue operations with three shifts, each working on a 24-hour basis. At maximum staffing, each shift consists of a Captain, one Lieutenant and nine Paramedic/Firefighters. In addition, there are two assistant chiefs, one EMS Chief, one Fire Marshal, three fire inspectors and two administrative assistants.
While Station 1 serves as home base, two Paramedic/Firefighters during each shift are on duty at Fire Station 2, 7335 York Ave. S.
During their 24-hour shifts, Edina Fire staff “live” at their assigned station. Meals are cooked and consumed, dorms are available for sleep as their schedule permits, and their workdays are focused on five areas: fire response, medical response, technical rescue, inspections and training.
“You never know what each day is going to bring,” Slama explained. “Our staff has a demanding schedule where they are away from their family for 24 hours at a time. During the day, they take care of the station while being
Fire Station 2, located at 7335 York Ave. S., is underequipped
to serve the need of the southeast quadrant of the city, which
makes up 45 percent of the Fire Department’s calls for service. Photo by Dan Reisig(continued on next page)
18 • ABOUT TOWN
available for emergencies. Because of the demands of the job, we have to make sure we prepare them with tools and equipment and any additional resources for them to be successful.”
Each shift works seven 24-hour periods over a 21-day span, totaling 2,904 hours per year. By comparison, the traditional American 40-hour workweek schedule totals 2,080 hours annually.
“Edina Paramedic/Firefighters are regularly scheduled for two and sometimes three 24-hour shifts per week. This means that they average a 56-hour workweek,” explained Operations Chief Pete Fisher.
The Edina Fire Department stays busy. At the time of publication, it is estimated that the Fire Department will have made 6,000 total emergency runs in 2021. Two very clear trends emerge from that data – 78 percent of the calls are for EMS, and 45 percent of the total calls are to the southeast quadrant of the city.
Incidentally, that southeast quadrant is also the home of current Fire Station 2, which is poorly equipped to handle that demand. Station 2 was designed to be a satellite station providing service exclusively during daytime hours, but was retrofitted several years ago to provide around-the-clock staffing for two Paramedic/Firefighters.
“Reviewing the data that we have available to us, it’s clear that Station 2 doesn’t have the capacity for the staffing needed to ensure proper response to that area of the city, and the city as a whole,” Slama said. “The current Station 2 was not designed for the purpose that
it is needed today, which is to say 24-hour response. It is undersized and unable to meet the performance needs of the city.”
A 2018 study commissioned by the department sought to identify the greatest areas of need, and whether public expectations are being met in terms of response time. Average response times have grown, and Slama hopes to work with the City Council to determine reasonable goals for them in the future. One solution to keep response times down across the city is to add a new fire station in the southeast quadrant.
“The City has experienced increased demands for emergency medical services over the past 10 years,” said City Manager Scott Neal. “That increased demand, in combination with changes in operating standards, is what drives our initiative to identify and acquire a new fire station site in the southeast quadrant of the city.”
The study makes the following recommendations: keep Station 1 as is in its current location; build a new Station 2 in the busy southeast quadrant; and, five to 10 years down the road, construct a third fire station in the northern part of the city.
“When we evaluate the city as a whole, we want to ensure that the response that we have is consistent throughout the entire community, regardless of the characteristics of any individual location within it,” Slama said. “We’ve hired consultants to assist in identifying fire station location to do that and serve the community to the highest level.”
2021 ANNUAL REPORT • 19
Work continues on locating and acquiring land for the new Station 2, with the hopes for a permanent spot by early 2022. After Station 2 opens, the City will gather and analyze more data to determine the best location and needs of a Station 3.
“The community will be best served by a new facility that can house the ambulances, fire trucks and, most importantly, the Paramedic/Firefighters who thousands of Edina residents depend on for emergency response services every day,” Neal said.
Of course, it’s important for Edina residents and those who visit or work in the city to also have input. Slama hosted a “Town Talk” in late September to discuss the operations of his department and seek feedback from members of the community. He hopes to keep that line of communication open, either when out in the city or on a daily basis inside Fire Station 1.
“Our staff prides itself in the connections we have with our community, whether that’s on an emergency response, in public education, or an informal stop by the fire station,” Slama said. “We appreciate the feedback and comments we receive that will help guide our department into the future.”
For more information on the Fire Department or its fire station location study, visit EdinaMN.gov/Fire.
Recent data has shown that 45 percent of the Department’s medical calls are to the southeast quadrant of the city, which is currenly served by the undersized Fire Station 2, 7335 York Ave. S.
Figure E-2aMedical Calls
Edina FireStation 1
Edina FireStation 2
Wendel WD Architecture, Engineering, Surveying & Landscape Architecture, P.C. shall assume no liability for 1. Any errors,omissions, or inaccuracies in the information providedregardless of how caused or; 2. Any decision oraction taken or not taken by the reader in relianceupon any information or data furnished hereunder.Data Sources: Hennepin County, MN GIS, City of Edina, MN, Esri, HERE, DeLorme, MapmyIndia, OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS user community02,000 4,0001,000 Feet
Map Created: September, 2018
CITY OF EDINAMINNESOTAFIRE DEPARTMENT
MedicalCall Density
Document Path: N:\PROJECTS\485601\Projects\FigureE2a_MedicalCalls.mxd
Fire Station Location Study
LEGEND
Edina Fire District1 & 2
Edina FireStations (Existing)
Golf Course
Park
Shopping Center
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Medical Calls1/1/15 - 7/10/18Medical CallConcentrationDensityLow
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20 • ABOUT TOWN
Council Approves City’s First
Climate Action Plan
Energy and environment champions say Edina is now a deeper shade of green.
Earlier this month, the City Council approved Edina’s first Climate Action Plan. The plan outlines strategies and actions to support achieving increased climate resilience, reductions in local greenhouse gas emissions and further advancement of the City’s sustainability goals.
The plan includes 200 actions that can be taken in Edina to meet goals by 2030. The City’s greenhouse gas emission reduction goals are to be compatible with the 2015 Paris Agreement. They target a reduction in City operations and community-wide emissions by 45 percent below 2019 levels and achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
“The discussion of climate change has been taking place for more than three decades, but it has been in the last four or five years that we have started to see its impact firsthand. We can no longer go on pretending that the problem is happening somewhere else and that we at the local level don’t have enough power to do our part,” said Hilda Martinez, chair of the Energy & Environment Commission. “We are at a point in time where we need to make transformative changes at all levels of society in order to avoid more severe and devastating impacts.
“The Climate Action Plan sets a 2030 roadmap for the City of Edina to be able to not only tackle climate change, but also jointly achieve environmental wellbeing, economic growth and social equity.”
Development of the extensive plan took 11 months by a team of 26 people who considered feedback from almost 450 residents.
For more information, visit EdinaMN.gov/Sustainability.
– Compiled by Jennifer Bennerotte
The Edina City Council approved Edina’s first Climate
Action Plan at its meeting Dec. 7. Members of the Energy
& Environment Commission and Climate Action Plan Team
celebrated with a banner at the meeting.Photo by Jennifer Bennerotte
2021 ANNUAL REPORT • 21
The following are likely the Phase 1 actions with the greatest impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions or helping with climate change or those actions that would help establish a solid foundation for later actions. These climate actions represent a “Quick Start” list of community and government steps that should be completed in the next three years.
(continued on next page)
• Accelerate building on- and off-street protected bike lanes, sidewalks, crosswalks and other places to walk in high-need areas and fill gaps identified in the City’s Bike & Pedestrian Master Plan.
• Advocate with Metro Transit to improve efficiency, convenience, frequency and reliability of bus service.
• Create an Electric Vehicle Action Plan.
• Fund and construct the Morningside Flood Infrastructure Project and complete preliminary concepts, prioritize and schedule mitigation projects for the next three or four flood-risk areas.
Phase 1 of Climate Action Plan
Transportation & Land Use
Water & Wastewater
22 • ABOUT TOWN
• Support existing school and community gardens and provide opportunities to expand community growing spaces with a focus on youth, immigrants and people with lower incomes or who are experiencing food insecurity.
• Establish a public “Food Forest” by adding edible trees, shrubs and regionally native vegetables to existing public landscaping, including boulevard and rights-of ways. An existing property would be identified for a pilot project.
• Work with established energy auditing and efficiency programs to accomplish significant residential energy-efficiency improvements and make the program accessible to all residents, including reduced participation costs for low-income households. The goal is 460 households each year.
• Work with Xcel Energy, CenterPoint Energy, Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and other partners to establish a commercial/industrial energy efficiency audit and upgrade program. The goal is 15 percent of commercial/industrial buildings by 2030 achieving a 20 percent efficiency increase per location.
• Explore the development of renewable energy programs that increase use of on-site/in-community renewable energy while creating benefit for low-income residents. The goal is 16,000 megawatt hours of clean energy delivered annually through programs by 2030.
• Coordinate and promote a residential and small business “Electrification and Energy Efficiency/Weatherization” group purchase campaign annually to help reduce the costs of energy-efficient, no/low-carbon heating systems through volume purchasing power. The goal is 300 households and 75 businesses participating each year.
Local Food & Agriculture
Buildings & Energy
2021 ANNUAL REPORT • 23
• Support capacity of neighborhood and community groups to implement climate mitigation and adaptation initiatives.
• Identify locations for increased tree planting capable of meeting long-term canopy goals and develop long-range implementation program based on the City’s 2021 Ground Cover, Tree Canopy and Carbon Sequestration Study and the goals of the Climate Action Plan.
• Complete a Land Conversion Opportunity Study supporting the ground-cover goals included in the Climate Action Plan.
• Identify a sustainable funding source for the goals and actions of the Climate Action Plan in support of low-income residents such as energy-efficiency projects, mobility and low-carbon transportation and high-quality local food programs.
• Work with local green jobs training providers to coordinate strategic planning and encourage programs to develop local workforce capacity and assess, train and place local residents to perform energy retrofits, solar photovoltaic installations and other green improvements.
Climate Health & Safety
Green Space & Trees
Climate Economy
24 • ABOUT TOWN
New Leaders Bring Diverse Experience and Perspectives
to Edina
By Debbie Townsend
Edina residents saw several new faces in City leadership positions in 2021, from new Fire and Police chiefs to a new Finance Director.
The leadership turnover was due to the timing of retirements: Those who had delayed their retirements to help during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic combined with those who had long planned to retire in 2021.
“We had a very senior leadership team,” said City Manager Scott Neal. “They were all very good at what they did.”
Neal said Edina was fortunate to find incredible candidates with diverse experiences who embody the City’s core values of integrity, quality and service. Across the board, the new members of the leadership team exceeded expectations.
“One of the things that’s exciting is the new perspectives we are getting exposed to,” he said, noting new leaders have come from Savage, Brooklyn Park, state government and the nonprofit sector. “We find these perspectives to be valuable.”
Meet the new leaders:
Tiffany Bushland, General Manager, Centennial Lakes Park• tbushland@EdinaMN.gov or 952-833-9582• Previous position: Recreation Supervisor for Edina Parks & Recreation
Centennial Lakes Park, 7499 France Ave. S., is the crown jewel of Edina parks, and Tom Shirley helped manage it from Day 1 until his retirement in 2021. Picking a replacement – a person with the drive to constantly improve such a huge park and work well with neighbors and surrounding businesses – seemed difficult at the onset. However, one name kept coming up: Tiffany Bushland.
“I think of the same word that everybody thinks of when they think of Tiffany Bushland: energy,” Neal said. “She’s going to be great there. I can’t wait to see what she does with it.”
Tiffany Bushland wants more residents to discover and enjoy Centennial Lakes Park.Photo by Suzanne Ressemann
2021 ANNUAL REPORT • 25
Bushland had a busy summer at the 24-acre park as visitors returned from pandemic isolation to take in concerts and outdoor movies, rent the paddle boats along the 10 acres of water and keep the putting courses humming with golfers. Still, she immediately started exploring ways to improve everything from walking paths to amenities. And she’s having fun doing it.
“I get to work at one of the coolest parks in the Twin Cities!” she said. Look for her smiling face and boundless energy on your next visit.
Grace Hancock, Sustainability Manager• ghancock@EdinaMN.gov or 952-826-1621• Previous position: Director of Finance & Strategy at The Nature Conservancy
“We were so happy to see someone with Grace’s academic and professional credentials come across our desks during the recruitment process,” Neal said. Hancock came with a business administration undergraduate degree and a master’s degree in environmental management (from academically prestigious Duke University), plus years of experience at organizations dedicated to the outdoors and natural resources.
Though she technically started in October 2020 in Edina, residents saw wave after wave of her influence and projects in 2021. Among them: getting a Green Fleet Policy finalized and approved, promoting electric vehicles and the charging infrastructure for them, piloting a City vehicle sharing program and, perhaps most impressively, helping a working group of residents and
business owners develop a draft of the City’s first Climate Action Plan.
“She’s really helping people make better decisions not just in day-to-day operations but for choices in purchasing and how they work together,” Neal said.
“Edinans are proud to live in a progressive community that espouses a commitment to sustainability,” Hancock said. “What I hear when I speak with residents and others in the city is that we must do more and faster.”
Grace Hancock is the driving force behind a slew of City sustainability projects.Photo by Suzanne Ressemann(continued on next page)
26 • ABOUT TOWN
Alisha McAndrews, Finance Director• amcandrews@EdinaMN.gov or 952-826-0419• Previous position: Executive Budget Coordinator for Minnesota Management and Budget
McAndrews’ dedication to providing excellent service to the community was apparent even before she started the position when she attended a City budget presentation as a spectator. She began as Finance Director in August and dove right in to working on the 2022-2023 budget, systems improvements and helping address funding for infrastructure needs, park improvements and other major projects of public benefit.
McAndrews brings a wealth of financial and leadership experience from state government that will benefit
City staff and taxpayers, Assistant City Manager Lisa Schaefer said.
In her first months, McAndrews has already been impressed with the community and staff.
“People here are always thinking and innovating with an eye toward residents,” she said. “There is no status quo.”
Todd Milburn, Police Chief• tmilburn@EdinaMN.gov or 952-826-1610• Previous Position: Deputy Chief of Brooklyn Park Police Department
Finding a Police Chief who understands the balance of law enforcement and evolving community standards for policing was a tall task in 2021.Alisha McAndrews is driven by public service and fiscal responsibility.Photo by Suzanne RessemannListening to residents is key to Todd Millburn’s view of modern policing.Photo by Suzanne Ressemann
2021 ANNUAL REPORT • 27
“Communications skills in law enforcement are more important today than ever. One of the important challenges in law enforcement right now is for Police officers to learn more effective ways of talking to the public about what they do and why they do it,” Neal said. “That’s one of the top skill sets I had in mind when it was time to select a new Police Chief.”
Milburn was that person. He brings experience not only communicating with residents but reaching out to community members, including those skeptical of police, to establish relationships, ask questions and seek input. So far, he’s seen a very welcoming Edina community.
“Getting to meet community members has been very enjoyable because of the strong support for the Police Department,” he said.
Milburn believes it’s important to be involved in the community more than just when someone calls 911. “Expect to see our officers out engaging the community in different ways, in non-traditional ways,” he said.
Andrew Slama, Fire Chief• aslama@EdinaMN.gov or 952-826-0332• Previous position: Chief of Savage Fire Department
If ever a new employee hit the ground running, it’s Slama – in part because he had a huge head start. Slama was an Edina Paramedic/Firefighter for five years, and Neal remembers Slama having the makings of a leader back then.
But Savage had an opening first, and Slama left Edina in 2018 to be Assistant Fire Chief there. Some unexpected
changes happened, and Slama soon was appointed Savage’s Fire Chief.
“I’m sure it was a stressful situation for him,” Neal said, “but in terms of professional development and learning, it was also great for him.”
So, when Edina had a fire chief opening, it was time to bring Slama back in.
“I know the city, I know the community and I know many of the people,” said Slama, whose goal is to keep Edina Fire a leader among fire agencies.
His return has been called a victory for the Fire Department, the City and the community. “We are really happy to have him back,” Neal said.
Once an Edina Paramedic/Firefighter, Andrew Slama has returned to lead the Fire Department.Photo by Suzanne Ressemann
28 • ABOUT TOWN
COVID-19 Didn’t Halt Progress on
2020-21 Initiatives and Projects
By Debbie Townsend
The City Council and staff across all City departments created an ambitious list of 35 initiatives and projects for 2020-21 that would meet or advance the City’s four key goals:
Strong Foundation
Reliable Service
Livable City
Better Together
It was developed before the arrival of coronavirus. Suddenly the City needed to switch gears and develop new ways of serving residents, offering resources and running the basics of government, with no blueprint to work from.
“I’m most proud of the COVID-19 response, because I think we were very early able to adjust to online and make the operational changes needed,” said Assistant City Manager Lisa Schaefer. That meant responding rapidly to the everchanging regulations and data, conducting meetings and public hearings online, establishing hubs for reliable information and resources, creating safe activities for children and adults, and even changing how Edina Liquor operates.
“It became a sort of emergency management that has now lasted two years,” Schaefer said. “As the pandemic wore on, we were able to operationalize the way we were doing
work and people were able to go back to their progress on the Budget Work Plan items.”
They made significant progress despite the challenges of the pandemic. While some projects focused on internal processes to improve efficiencies or align systems, several were generated by residents or heavily driven by them. Among those:
• Changing how street assessments are paid for• Establishing a rental housing license and inspection program• Outfitting Police with body-worn cameras• Launching curbside organics recycling• Developing a Climate Action Plan
One program, organics recycling, is already making a huge impact despite a COVID-19-delayed launch. Edina residents have diverted nearly 2,000 tons of potential trash from landfills, the equivalent weight of six Boeing 747 airplanes or two cargo ships. Better yet, what has gone into organics bins has returned to Edina as compost that the City has given away to residents at various events and is being used in park planting projects.
And the program keeps growing. “Every week, more and more households are setting out their carts for the first time,” said Organics Recycling Coordinator Twila Singh. “Organics recycling is becoming a normalized and expected part of our waste management system.”
Find the entire Budget Work Plan and more information online at EdinaMN.gov/CityGoals.
2021 ANNUAL REPORT • 29
(continued on next page)
Administrative Support Specialist Jasmine Robles welcomes visitors to Edina City Hall at the new front entrance.Photo by Ricardo AcostaThe Edina City Hall parking lot was improved in 2021 for enhanced pedestrian safety and ADA accessibility.File photoCreate Green Building Policy for City facilities In Progress Expected approval late 2021.
Update Fred Richards Park and Braemar Park master plans, including costs to enact Complete Funding would come from Local Option Sales Tax if voters approve in 2022.
Develop plan for improving City Hall security, safety and energy efficiency In Progress
Ventilation improved, security upgrades installed, front entrance made more accessible to all. Parking lot improved for enhanced pedestrian safety and ADA accessibility and electric vehicle charging station added. Energy-efficiency lighting and controls in progress.
Develop recommendations for street reconstruction funding Complete Street assessment will be phased into property taxes citywide over time, replacing assessing affected residents per project.
Goal 1: Maintain Physical Assets and Infrastructure
Strategy/Action Status Notes
30 • ABOUT TOWN
Goal 2 – Maintain Service Levels that Best Meet the Needs of the Community
Goal 3 – Plan for Connected & Sustainable Development
Determine long-term plan for Edina Art Center In Progress Programs will continue at City parks and facilities while new location is explored. Areas of existing building do not meet safety and accessibility standards.
Implement rental housing license and inspection program Complete More than 750 units have been licensed to ensure tenant safety and alert landlords of potential hazards.
Implement Police body-worn cameras Complete All officers wear body cameras. Policies in place for usage and collected video.
Develop plan to relocate Fire Station 2 to better respond 24 hours to fires and medical calls In Progress Work continues on locating and acquiring land for the new Station 2, with the hopes for a permanent spot by early 2022.
Create more affordable housing units in City In Progress
Five houses have been acquired by the Homes Within Reach program with more being sought. A 3- to 4-story building of affordable housing for seniors is slated for 4040 W. 70th St.
Develop waste reduction goals and implement residential organics recycling Complete About 100 tons of organics are being diverted monthly from landfills. More than 30 percent of residents participate.
Implement Energy Benchmarking ordinance In Progress
About 300 buildings submit data to the City, which connects owners to energy-efficiency resources to help lower utility bills and reduce Edina’s overall carbon footprint.
Develop a Climate Action Plan for the City In Progress The City Council was expected to approve the plan in December 2021.
Strategy/Action Status Notes
Strategy/Action Status Notes
2021 ANNUAL REPORT • 31
Edina residents recycle about 100 tons of organics each month.Photo by Katie LauxThe GROW Framework was a training seminar offered monthly in 2021, during which staff members learned, practiced and received tools to talk about race and equity.Photo by Heidi LeeGoal 4 – Foster An Inclusive and Engaged Community
Continue progress of Racial Equity Implementation Plan Complete Progress reports are provided quarterly to the Human Rights & Relations Commission and City Council.
Develop measurable Citywide racial equity goals and incorporate resources into decision-making processes
In Progress Every work plan includes Citywide racial equity goals and department-specific ones. There is also a separate Racial Equity Work Plan.
Provide additional racial equity training and resources to staff and leadership In Progress All full-time employees were on track to participate in expanded training in 2021.
Develop and launch plan to increase diversity of boards and commissions members In Progress Plan will be implemented for 2022 appointment process.
Strategy/Action Status Notes
32 • ABOUT TOWN
Green Fleet Policy Adds Electric
and Hybrid Vehicles to City
By Debbie Townsend
Edina residents likely noticed the electric vehicle charging stations pop up in front of City Hall, at the 50th & France North Ramp and outside the Grandview and Southdale Edina Liquor stores. What they may not have noticed is their Edina Liquor delivery was done via electric vehicle or that the building inspector arrived in one.
The City made huge strides in 2021 toward a greener vehicle fleet and the infrastructure to support it. Most notably, in April, the City passed a Green Fleet Policy that requires purchasing a fuel-efficient alternative if available and reasonable for any vehicle replacement.
“They must purchase or consider purchasing the most efficient vehicle for meeting needs,” said Sustainability Manager Grace Hancock. It could be an all-electric vehicle (EV), a hybrid or one with significantly better gas mileage.
“The City made this change because we know there’s a return on investment,” Hancock said. For instance, electric vehicles are cheaper to own because the power is less expensive than gasoline and they don’t have an internal combustion engine to maintain. Plus these vehicles don’t produce emissions, helping the City reach its goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent from 2007 levels by 2025.
All of that came into play in 2020 when Edina Liquor’s fledgling home delivery program exploded in popularity when coronavirus shut down stores and kept people at home.
“Delivery has become a huge part of their enterprise,” Hancock said. “Making sure we have the mostefficient vehicle on the road helps us minimize the impact of that business change and maximize profits, which get poured right back into the community.”
Buying electric or hybrid vehicles began before the policy was passed, but still only about 10 percent of the City’s fleet of roughly 300 vehicles runs on something other than fossil fuels. Only a portion of the overall fleet is replaced each year, determined by a schedule based on mileage, usage, wear and tear and vehicle type. It will take time for a significantly greener fleet.Photo by Katie LauxSustainability Manager Grace Hancock plugs in one of the City’s electric vehicles at a publicly available charging station in front of Edina City Hall.
2021 ANNUAL REPORT • 33
Those 10 percent of vehicles, though, have had a much broader impact. Several employees who have driven them for work have become their biggest supporters.
“I’ve never had an issue getting to the numerous inspections I have throughout the City, using the car anywhere from 15 minutes to 4 hours at a time,” said Graduate Engineer Zuly Marquez, who purchased her own Nissan LEAF after driving a City one for a few months. “And my personal favorite, it has added bonuses for the winter like the heated seats and steering wheel.”
Anyone can get two free hours at the City-installed EV chargers. Charging above that costs $6 an hour.
“We are building out infrastructure that everyone can use,” Hancock said. “If an Edina resident is in the market for a new car, they should consider electric because we have the infrastructure to support it.”
Most residents and businesses can find an electric or hybrid vehicle on the market to meet their needs, from compact passenger cars to small SUVs and Ford F-150 pickups. So can the City, with some exceptions that are covered in the Green Fleet Policy.
For instance, there is an all-electric street sweeper available, but the price tag was $590,000, more than double a traditional fuel model, Public Works Director Brian Olson said. So Public Works passed on it. The Green Fleet Policy allows purchasing an alternative if it’s less than 50 percent more expensive than a similar fossil fuel version. Any price difference is covered by the
Conservation and Sustainability Fund, paid by utility franchise fees on Xcel Energy and CenterPoint Energy.
No alternative fuel model exists for some specialty vehicles in the City fleet. And some that exist don’t yet perform well enough to justify replacement. For instance, Police ordered eight highly recommended hybrid patrol cars that had been tested by reliable agencies. But in real-world use on the streets, officers found the car’s switch from electric to gas or vice versa was abrupt, which proved tiresome to those working 12-hour shifts, Deputy Chief Jeff Elasky said. The hybrids also don’t accelerate quickly enough in certain high-performance situations, such as a chase. So, Police won’t be purchasing more unless the technology and performance improve greatly.
In these cases, the City still is able to work toward its goals because of improving gas mileage and emissions reductions on vehicles.
“If our goal is to be 30 percent more efficient with every purchase, a lot of times by just buying the newest model we are meeting that goal,” Hancock said.
For more information, contact Hancock at ghancock@EdinaMN.gov or 952-826-1621.
34 • ABOUT TOWN
The Edina Police Department has taken numerous steps to ensure its mission and goals align with the needs of the community. In particular, in recent years, the Department evaluated its work through the lens of race and equity, working to incorporate recommendations from the Race & Equity Task Force and best practices.
For more information on the Edina Police Department, visit EdinaMN.gov/Police.
Community Policing in Edina:
2021 and Beyond
Adopted Use of FORCE POLICIES (#8CantWait)SIX PILLARS of President’s Task Force on 21st Century PolicingBan chokeholds and strangleholds
Require de-escalation
Require warning before shooting
Require exhausting all alternatives before shooting
Duty to intervene
Ban shooting at moving vehicles
Require use of force continuum
Require comprehensive reporting
Building Trust & Legitimacy
Policy & Oversight
Technology & Social Media
Community Policing & Crime Reduction
Training & Education
Officer Safety & Wellness
2021 ANNUAL REPORT • 35 WHAT WE’VE DONEMOVING FORWARDEnhanced wellness and mental health resources for Police Officers and staff
Adding mental health and social worker resources as part of response to calls
Increasing community programming and communication beyond emergency response
Continued emphasis on adherence to Code of Ethics among current and new officers
Alignment of field training processes to ensure they match up with guardian culture of policing
Tracking data on race and gender for traffic stops in future
Race & Equity training for all employees
Worked with the Human Resources Department to implement an Officer Wellness and Mental Health program
Implemented body-worn cameras for all Police Officers
Published the Edina Police Department Policy Manual on EdinaMN.gov
Removed names from weekly crime reports
Participated in community forums
36 • ABOUT TOWN
By Dan Reisig
In a year with unprecedented economic hardships and challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Edina’s affordable housing programs saw tremendous success and interest. Two initiatives in particular, the Housing Preservation and Homeownership Rehab Programs, were launched to maintain Edina’s stock of modestly priced older homes.
“The success of our affordable housing programs this year shows that we were able to reach Edinans across a broad spectrum who are interested in supporting this important cause,” said Affordable Housing Development Manager Stephanie Hawkinson.
The City promoted its Housing Preservation Program with a targeted mailing to owners of single-family homes with an assessed value of up to $425,000. It gives them the opportunity to have their home purchased under existing Housing & Redevelopment Authority programs, with the intent of keeping it from being torn down and maintaining a stock of modestly priced single-family homes in the community.
“Nothing was moving between July 2020 (when the program launched) and when the postcard was sent,” Hawkinson said. “To date, 34 sellers have come forward in response to that postcard – so we found out that there is an interest in the community. And these folks could make more if they sold their homes on the private market. They know they are selling their homes for less than the potential because they believe in the program.”
A major goal of Edina’s affordable housing strategy is to increase workforce housing – that is, homes for those who work in the city but otherwise could not afford to establish roots within its boundaries. Via this program, the first house that closed in early September was sold to a service worker who works in Edina and was able to relocate his family to an affordable home.
“Response has been overwhelmingly positive and greater than we originally thought,” Hawkinson said. “The private market wasn’t addressing the needs of more moderate-income homebuyers.”
“I have heard anecdotally that there are a number of people who have asked for more information on this program because they are interested in ensuring that their home remains affordable to a new generation of homebuyers,” said Steve Brown, Coordinator of Edina Neighbors for Affordable Housing. “As this program is for homeowners actively planning to sell their homes, it may be a while before we have evidence of this program’s success.”
For those who have an eye on maintaining their modest single-family homes, but are not looking to move out immediately, the Homeownership Rehab Program has been a hit. It allows owners with moderate incomes to take out loans at little or no cost. No monthly payments are due on the borrowed amount, which ranges from $2,000 to $30,000, and the City has first right of refusal when the owner is ready to sell. If the Housing & Redevelopment Authority chooses to purchase the house,
City’s Affordable Housing
Programs Make Progress in 2021
2021 ANNUAL REPORT • 37
the loan is forgiven. Otherwise, the loan’s principal amount plus 2 percent non-compounding simple interest is due upon sale.
“This is an example of how affordable housing can apply not just to new residents, but those who already live in affordable homes and have modest incomes,” Hawkinson said. “It’s helping them preserve and maintain their ability to live in their home. And we hope, when they are ready to sell, they’ll sell it to the City.”
For those who are looking to live in the city, one new option opened in the Cahill Neighborhood at the corner of Amundson Avenue and West 70th Street. The Amundson Flats apartment building offers one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments with underground parking, in-unit laundry and a host of other amenities. The building is guaranteed to remain affordable for 40 years.
“We were able to transform a radically blighted parcel – a former commercial dry cleaner – and provide new opportunities with access to the Nine Mile Creek trail and other recreation activities,” Hawkinson said.
All 62 units in the building are priced for affordable housing, requiring tenants have no more than 60 percent of median area income. Rents range from $660 to $1,490 per month.
Work continues in other programs as well to support Edina’s affordable housing goals. The Metropolitan Council’s Housing and Redevelopment Authority, or Metro HRA, operates the Family Affordable Housing Program (FAHP) to serve families with low incomes.
There are currently eight homes under the FAHP in Edina, and the organization is looking to increase its stock by four homes, as the portfolio of homes has not changed in 16 years despite growing need. The City provided $2 million to the Metro HRA for the purchase of four additional homes.
“The FAHP exists to help get families started on the path toward homeownership,” Hawkinson explained of the program that subsidizes low-income renters with payments to private landlords on the existing market. “They rent, but the goal is for them to graduate out of the program so they can own.”
(continued on next page)
Mayor Jim Hovland, Council Member Carolyn Jackson and
City Manager Scott Neal join others in officially opening the
Amundson Flats affordable housing project in June. File Photo
38 • ABOUT TOWN
Finally, the Come Home 2 Edina loan program continues to find success in increasing the ability of buyers to find affordable homes for purchase in the City. After a record-breaking 2020, the program is on pace to reach that level in 2021 with eight closings through September.
Even among new construction, the City is making progress toward its affordable housing goals.
“In its Comprehensive Plan, the City set an affordable housing goal of having developers build 1,804 affordable homes by the year 2030, or approximately 180 new homes each year,” Brown explained. “In 2020, developers built
28 new affordable homes in Edina. In 2021, they built 62 affordable homes. There are currently 81 new affordable homes under construction that will be completed in 2022.
“To put these numbers in perspective, in the decade from 2011 to 2020, there were a total of only 98 new affordable homes built, or 10 homes per year,” he added. “While even the 81 new homes in 2022 is still short of the annual goal of 180, this represents a significant increase in annual production of affordable homes.”
While it was a successful year across the board for Edina’s affordable housing initiatives, there is always room to grow.
“The response and achievements we saw this past year have certainly been encouraging, but we also know there is a long way to go in order to meet this important need,” said Hawkinson.
For more information on the City’s affordable housing programs, visit OpenDoorsEdina.org.
Edina offers naturally occurring affordable housing for rental
and purchase, with different locations and styles throughout
the city.File Photo
2021 ANNUAL REPORT • 39
By Dan Reisig
Starting in 2022 and for the next 16 years, the City of Edina will phase in a new funding model for street reconstruction throughout the city.
For more than a year, the City’s Street Funding Task Force sought input, gathered feedback and ultimately presented a recommendation to City Council that will eliminate special assessments for individual neighborhoods when a street is re-paved, and instead everyone will contribute through property taxes.
“Over the years, we’ve seen assessments increasing with inflation, becoming unsustainable,” said Engineering Director Chad Millner. “They’re getting to a point where the Council wasn’t comfortable approving them, also getting to a point where they’re unsustainable from a legal standpoint and costs continue to rise.”
Previously, the City’s Utility Fund covered the cost of curb and gutter and other utility improvements in a neighborhood roadway reconstruction project. Residents were assessed the cost of street reconstruction. The benefit test, outlined in Minnesota State Statute chapter 429, requires that a public improvement that requires an assessment to the property must allow the property owner to see that value increase in its market value.
Recent estimates for special assessments in neighborhoods with larger lots have climbed to $32,000, a figure Council Members thought was too high to impose. The City Council delayed a project in the Prospect Knolls Neighborhood in 2019 until after a task force appointed
by the City Manager could study the funding issue and make recommendations.
That eight-member task force consisted of Chair Ann Swenson, Transportation Commission Representative Matt Scherer, David Alkire, Chip Howard, Kathy Kelly, Hamid Mohtadi and Ralph Zickert. The group gathered input from residents and ultimately put together their recommendation. A total of 16 meetings were held over an eight-month span.
Paving a New Way to Pay for
Street Reconstruction
Beginning in 2022, the City will gradually shift to a tax-funded model for street reconstruction, rather than special assessments for individual streets.Photo by Scott Denfeld(continued on next page)
40 • ABOUT TOWN
“The first few meetings of the task force involved learning about street reconstruction,” said Swenson, who spent 12 years as a member of City Council. “They needed to learn about how long it had been going on and how decisions were made. The word fairness came up a lot.”
Since those who had recently had streets reconstructed were paying the full cost under the previous funding model, Swenson admits that the process was never going to result in a solution that made everyone happy, but that the goal was to make it fair and the most equitable
for people. She said an “a-ha” moment came when they discovered that individual streets have different reconstruction needs for the subbase, the layer below the asphalt and gravel.
“Engineering standards have changed, so not every street needs as much improvement as others, but you would never know that when you buy a house,” she explained. “If you’re going to have to spend a lot of dollars in remediation as a homeowner, or if it happens to be one where it doesn’t need anything, there’s a big delta in cost there.”
“I think we learned there is no 100 percent fair option when talking about this midstream change,” Millner added. “Half the people have been assessed already and half have not, but we just couldn’t sustain it. So the task force took two options they felt were as fair as possible.”
Of course, resident feedback was significant on the matter. The project’s public engagement site on Better Together Edina saw 2,100 total site visits and more than 300 residential properties submit feedback. Also as expected, reaction was divided.
“Staff and the task force felt it was very important to go out to the public and get comments. We collected a lot of feedback forms. They wanted to get all those opinions before they made recommendations to the City Council,” Millner explained. “So, I feel like we really did that from a public engagement standpoint. You can’t please everybody, but we heard everybody and the task force took that into consideration with the recommendations.”
The cost for street reconstruction can vary greatly, depending on the condition of the subbase layer below the asphalt and base.
2021 ANNUAL REPORT • 41
According to a “Town Talk” presentation given by Millner and Swenson in early November, feedback included questions about refunds on previously paid assessments, ideas to keep the current system in place until all reconstruction is complete, ways to delay tax increases on those who have paid assessments, and feelings that everyone should contribute as road reconstruction is a basic city function.
“You have to tax everybody the same, so you can’t choose a street that was redone and make their real estate taxes cheaper,” Swenson said of addressing the tax rate by property or neighborhood.
The tax increases though, spread out among the entire city, are incremental and thus easier to adjust to. In year one, a median-valued home of $551,300 would see an annual increase of $37.90. Each subsequent year would add another $10.49. The total additional taxes over the 16-year span on the median-valued home is approximately $2,000.
Council approved the 100 percent tax levy plan in July, with Council Member Kevin Staunton saying at the meeting, “I think we reached consensus that if we were starting from scratch, we would do it with 100 percent taxes.”
Swenson echoed that sentiment and added a positive aspect to the new taxation.
“If you asked all of us if we were starting over to write a new policy for a city for streets that had never
been redone, we would do it this new way rather than charging individuals on the new street,” she said. “The good news is that this came at a time when the tax value of our city has been going up, so the impact on everyone is spread out.”
To read more about the Street Funding Task Force’s work and recommendations, visit bit.ly/StreetFunding. Find out more about street reconstruction in Edina by visiting EdinaMN.gov/Engineering. Contact the Engineering Department at 952-826-0371.
42 • ABOUT TOWN
Thanks to the generous donations of many philanthropic individuals, clubs and businesses, the City of Edina received more than $135,000 in donations in 2021 to use toward programs, public safety and park improvements.
The single largest donation given to the City was from the Edina Garden Council. The Council gifted close to $18,000 for the installation of a pergola at the Tranquility Garden at Arneson Acres Park as part of an ongoing project to reinvigorate the park.
“We would like this to be a really nice space for the people who visit the park,” said Edina Garden Council member Liz Genovese. “We believe that Arneson Acres is a special place. It’s not as athletic of a park as the others. It’s more agricultural; it’s an amalgamation of a bunch of different plant and flower gardens.”
The Garden Council has been working on the Tranquility Garden at 4711 W. 70th St. since 2016. The first phase involved grading the site, laying brick paths and planting 14 trees. The second involves installing an irrigation system and 26-foot stone seat wall. With more phases to come, the Garden Council hopes people continue to visit the park and enjoy the beauty it has to offer.
“Our commitment is to Arneson Acres. Our vision is the Tranquility Garden will be a place for people to go for reflection and peace,” said Genovese. “We hope that people will appreciate the planting and that it can be used in different ways.”
Dozens of others donated to the City in 2021.
Those contributing $500 or more were:
• Andy & Michele Herring – $500 for the Art Center
• Jennifer (Presthus) Lukaska – $500 for memorial paver stone
• J. Patrick & Linda Smith – $500 for the Police Department
• J. Patrick and Linda Smith – $500 for the Fire Department
• Edina Community Foundation – $600 for 15 books for members of the Arts & Culture Commission
• William Davis – $700 for a tree at Rosland Park
• Pacy Erck – $1,000 for two memorial paver stones
• Snead League – $1,000 for memorial/Honor Garden and additional memorial paver stone
• Ami Sharp & Dean Jones – $1,040 for trees at Kojetin Park
• Craft Homes LLC – $1,050 for a tree donation at 5609 Beard Ave. S.
• Little Hospice – $1,500 for the Police Department
• Little Hospice – $1,500 for the Fire Department
• Andrew Warczak – $1,500 for trees at Strachauer Park
• Edina Crime Prevention Fund – $1,526 for retired K-9s
• Dan & Dianne Latham – $2,000 for a bench at Arneson Acres Park
• Scott Lejonvarn – $2,000 for two Honeycrisp apple trees in honor of Dr. Brian Trotter
Donors Contribute Over $135,000
to City in 2021
2021 ANNUAL REPORT • 43
• Carey Seeley Dzierzak – $2,200 for a bench at Centennial Lakes Park
• Kelodale Garden Club – $2,300 for noxious week abatement at Lake Cornelia
• Edina Crime Prevention Fund – $2,804 for a laptop
• Rotary Club of Edina – $3,000 for an EleGARD CPR device
• Pacy Erck – $3,000 for a Memorial/Honor Garden and fund
• Doris Grimes – $3,200 for a bench at Arden Park
• Melissa Mendez – $3,200 for a bench at Bredesen Park
• Bruce Mooty – $3,200 for benches
• Kevra Piepho – $3,200 bench donation for Bredesen Park
• Thomas Sullivan – $3,200 bench at Arden Park
• Zoi & Yevgeniy Sychev – $3,500 for 10 trees at Pamela Park
• Dr. William & Diane Kimbler – $3,550 for park bench and tree at Arden Park
• James Rodin – $3,550 for a memorial bench and tree at Bredesen Park
• Crime Prevention Fund – $3,847 for Police Foot Patrols
• Edina Garden Council – $4,500 for three benches for the Tranquility Garden at Arneson Acres Park
• Edina Crime Prevention Fund – $4,974 for Police Bike Patrols
• Peter Deanovic – $9,256 for 10 trees at Kojetin Park
• Edina Baseball Association – $9,920 for four portable pitching mounds for use at Courtney Fields
• Kathleen Kane and Family – $10,000 for the Edina Art Center
• Edina Crime Prevention Fund – $15,000 for safety equipment
Donations to the City of Edina are tax deductible. For more information on donating to the City, call 952-826-0359.
– Compiled by Ricardo Acosta
The Edina Garden Council donated a pergola for the Tranquility
Garden at Arneson Acres Park, 4711 W. 70th St. Pictured
under the pergola are Garden Council members Sue Neuhart,
Pat Mills, Ruth Mclntyre, Betty Workinger, Liz Genovese,
Colette Sherman and Vicky Kent.Photo by Ricardo Acosta
44 • ABOUT TOWN
2022 At a Glance
New Year’s DaySaturday, Jan. 1
Winter Ice FestivalSunday, Jan. 16Centennial Lakes Park
Martin Luther King Jr. DayMonday, Jan. 17
Black History MonthFebruary
Lunar New YearTuesday, Feb. 1
Presidents DayMonday, Feb. 21
Women’s History MonthMarch
State of the CommunityWednesday, March 2
International Women’s DayTuesday, March 8
HoliFriday, March 18
RamadanSunday, April 3
PassoverFriday, April 15-Sunday, April 17
EasterSunday, April 17
Free Clothing SwapSaturday, April 23Braemar Arena’s Backyard Rink
Braemar-City of Lakes Figure Skating Club Spring Ice ShowFriday, April 29 and Saturday, April 30Braemar Arena
Heritage Preservation and Park & Recreation Month & Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage MonthMay
Eid al-FitrTuesday, May 3
Kids to Parks DaySaturday, May 21
Memorial DayMonday, May 30
Pride MonthJune
Edina Art FairFriday, June 3-Sunday, June 550th & France
Parade of BoatsSunday, June 12Centennial Lakes Park
JuneteenthSunday, June 19
Independence DayMonday, July 4
Following are dates and City events special to many Edina residents and visitors. See a complete calendar online at EdinaMN.gov.
Winter Ice Festival
4th of July ParadeFile PhotoFile Photo
2021 ANNUAL REPORT • 45
4th of July Parade10 a.m. Monday, July 4Edina City Hall to 50th & France
4th of July Concert & Fireworks8:45 p.m. Monday, July 4
Eid al-AdhaSunday, July 10
Night to UniteTuesday, Aug. 2Various neighborhoods
Dog Days of Summer PawtySaturday, Aug. 6Van Valkenburg Park
AshuraMonday, Aug. 8
Election DayTuesday, Aug. 9
Lighthouse Night & Torchlight ConcertSunday, Aug. 14Centennial Lakes Park
Labor DayMonday, Sept. 5
Fall into the Arts FestivalSaturday, Sept. 10-Sunday, Sept. 11Centennial Lakes Park
Hispanic Heritage MonthThursday, Sept. 15-Saturday, Oct. 15
Rosh HashanahSunday, Sept. 25-Tuesday, Sept. 27
Fire Prevention MonthOctober
Yom KippurTuesday, Oct. 4-Wednesday, Oct. 5
Indigenous Peoples’ DayMonday, Oct. 10
DiwaliMonday, Oct. 24
HalloBooThursday, Oct. 27Edinborough Park
Native American Heritage MonthNovember
Pumpkin Smash & BashThursday, Nov. 3Countryside Park
Election DayTuesday, Nov. 8
Veterans DayFriday, Nov. 11
ThanksgivingThursday, Nov. 24
HanukkahSunday, Dec. 18
Christmas EveSaturday, Dec. 24
ChristmasSunday, Dec. 25
KwanzaaMonday, Dec. 26
Night to UniteFile PhotoLighthouse Night & Torchlight ConcertFile Photo
46 • ABOUT TOWN
The Last Word
The primary purpose of an annual report is accountability. It’s about telling your shareholders, contributors, stakeholders, citizens and residents what you accomplished last year. This edition of About Town serves as our annual report, and most of it looks back. As the author of “The Last Word” for this edition, I’ll change the view and talk about what’s coming in 2022.
We describe our goals for 2022 within the context of the City’s four pillars of work: Strong Foundation, Reliable Service, Livable City and Better Together. The four broad goals help us define not only what we are planning to do, but also why we are planning to do it and how it fits into our greater mission.
Our Strong Foundation goal is mostly about infrastructure. The City’s streets, water and sewer utilities, sidewalks, drinking water, ponds, facilities and buildings are all part of the Strong Foundation of the City. In 2022, we are going to develop a new system for managing street lights, design and build a climate change-related flood control project in the Morningside Neighborhood, expand the City’s fiber optic network to
improve communication and data services across our internal network, acquire and design a new Fire Station 2 in the Southdale area, and host a local referendum on a Local Option Sales Tax to fund major park and facility improvements in Braemar and Fred Richards parks.
The Reliable Service goal is about paying attention to the services the City provides to residents. Do the City’s array of services generally match what residents want from city government? Is the quality of the services provided by city government meeting the expectations of our residents? Do we have the right staff and resources to accomplish what is expected? These are the three key questions we try to answer with the Reliable Service goal. For 2022, we are going to assess the post-pandemic office and service needs of City Hall, determine the long-term future for the Edina Art Center and the City’s arts and culture programming, and increase the level of services provided by the City in areas around community mental health.
Broad goal number three is called Livable City. This is where we plan for a connected and sustainable future as a community. Among the 2022 Livable City goals are finalizing our Climate Action Plan and starting its implementation, increasing the participation in the City’s organic waste collection program, continuing our work to develop more affordable housing in the community, and working with private sector tech companies to increase the high-speed broadband options available to residents.
The final broad goal is called Better Together. This goal focuses on the intangible aspects of Edina that make it
Strong FoundationCITY GOALS:Better TogetherReliable Service Livable City
2021 ANNUAL REPORT • 47
an inclusive and engaged community. The City’s 2022 Better Together goals include refining our new system of recruiting and selecting advisory board and commission members and successfully implementing the City’s spending plan for its American Rescue Plan Act funds.
This is a small sampling of the new or special things the City of Edina is going to work on in 2022. We will continue providing all the same high-quality services and programs we offer to ensure the safety, well-being and
quality of life for those who live, work and visit. I look forward to seeing what our work plan goals bring to the community in the new year.
Scott H. NealCity Manager
The Reliable Service goal is about paying attention to the
services the City provides to residents, such as its residential
organics recycling.File Photo
48 • ABOUT TOWN
City Of Edina Facilities
Edina City Hall, 4801 W. 50th St. 952-927-8861
Edina Aquatic Center, 4300 W. 66th St. 952-833-9560
Edina Art Center, 4701 W. 64th St. 952-903-5780
Braemar Arena, 7501 Ikola Way 952-833-9506
Braemar Field, 7509 Ikola Way 952-833-9512
Braemar Golf Course, 6364 John Harris Drive 952-903-5750
Braemar Golf Dome, 7420 Braemar Blvd. 952-903-5775
Centennial Lakes Park, 7499 France Ave. S. 952-833-9580
Edina Liquor – 50th & France, 3943 50th St. 952-903-5720
Edina Liquor – Grandview, 5013 Vernon Ave. 952-903-5740
Edina Liquor – Southdale, 6755 York Ave. S. 952-903-5730
Edina Senior Center, 5280 Grandview Square 952-833-9570
Edinborough Park, 7700 York Ave. S. 952-833-9540
Fire Station No. 1, 6250 Tracy Ave. 952-826-0330
Fire Station No. 2, 7335 York Ave. 952-826-0357
Public Works & Park Maintenance Facility, 952-826-0376 7450 Metro Blvd.
South Metro Public Safety Training Facility, 952-903-5700 7525 Braemar Blvd.
Elected Officials
City CouncilJim Hovland, Mayor, 612-874-8551Ron Anderson, Council Member, 952-833-9549Carolyn Jackson, Council Member, 952-833-9547James Pierce, Council Member, 952-833-9548Kevin Staunton, Council Member, 612-743-7571
OtherChris LaTondressse, County Commissioner, 612-348-7886Melisa Franzen, State Senator, 651-296-6238Heather Edelson, State Representative – 49A, 651-296-4363Steve Elkins, State Representative – 49B, 651-296-7803
Call 952-927-8861 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday for general information. If you have a situation after hours or on weekends, but do not require immediate response from a paramedic, firefighter, police officer or Public Works crew, call the Police Department’s non-emergency number, 952-826-1610.
City-Recognized Neighborhoods
Arden Park, Elliot Rosenblum, ArdenParkNA@gmail.com
Chowen Park, Bill Neuendorf, chowenpark.edina@gmail.com
Concord, Ellen Westin, EllenWestin@edinarealty.com
Creek Knoll, Tim O’Neill, tim@pianobrothers.com
Lake Cornelia, Nora Davis, noradavis73@gmail.com
Morningside, Meriwether Felt, Meriwetherfelt@msn.comPamela Park, Laura Bergman, laurabergman@edinarealty.com
South Cornelia, Joel Zaslofsky, Southcornelia.org
Strachauer Park, Chris Bremer, cbremer101@gmail.com
Sunnyslope, Paul Porter, SunnyslopeAssoc@gmail.com
White Oaks, Dayna Deutsch, wonaedina@gmail.com
In Print
The City newsletter, Edition: Edina, is mailed monthly to all Edina addresses
Emergencies
Stay informed during an emergency by signing up at EdinaMN.gov/Smart911
Online
Visit the City’s website at EdinaMN.gov
Watch
Edina TV is on Comcast Channels 16 or 813 or the EdinaTV YouTube channel
Engage
Follow projects and give feedback on BetterTogetherEdina.org
Send
Send us questions and feedback by writing to mail@EdinaMN.gov
The City knows communications preferences vary, so it shares information in a variety of ways.
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d
de artes pueden ver qu
e
e
s
t
e
h
o
m
b
r
e
puede hacerlo”, dijo Le
g
e
r
o
s
.
“
R
e
a
l
m
e
n
t
e
nunca creí que m
i
v
i
d
a
s
e
p
l
a
s
m
a
r
í
a
e
n
un libro, pero ah
o
r
a
q
u
e
e
s
t
á
h
e
c
h
o
,
e
s
agradable tenerlo
”
.
El libro fue una idea im
p
u
l
s
a
d
a
p
o
r
J
o
h
n
Horn, el expresidente d
e
N
o
r
t
h
w
e
s
t
Airlines, y luego
s
e
c
o
n
v
i
r
t
i
ó
e
n
u
n
a
realidad con el a
p
o
y
o
d
e
l
d
i
r
e
c
t
o
r
e
j
e
c
u
t
i
v
o
de la Fundación C
o
m
u
n
i
t
a
r
i
a
E
d
i
n
a
,
D
i
c
k
Crockett.
“John Horn pen
s
ó
q
u
e
e
r
a
f
a
s
c
i
n
a
n
t
e
,
pero que muy p
o
c
a
g
e
n
t
e
l
o
e
n
t
e
n
d
e
r
í
a
,
y se preguntaba
s
i
h
a
b
í
a
a
l
g
u
n
a
f
o
r
m
a
de explicar el pro
c
e
s
o
y
h
a
c
e
r
l
o
m
á
s
accesible”, dijo Le
g
e
r
o
s
,
y
a
g
r
e
g
ó
q
u
e
H
o
r
n
suele ir a su estudi
o
p
a
r
a
v
e
r
e
l
p
r
o
c
e
s
o
creativo desde un
a
s
i
e
n
t
o
d
e
p
ri
m
e
r
a
f
i
l
a
.
Edición: Edina NOVIEMBRE DE 20
2
1
Volumen 8, Número 11
Base SólidaOBJETIVOS DE LA CIUDAD:
Mejor Juntos
Servicio Confiable Ciudad Habitable
“Realmente que
r
í
a
a
l
g
o
q
u
e
p
u
d
i
e
r
a
d
a
r
a
las bibliotecas y e
s
c
u
e
l
a
s
p
a
r
a
q
u
e
l
a
g
e
n
t
e
sepa que esta es
u
n
a
v
e
r
d
a
d
e
r
a
p
r
o
f
e
s
i
ó
n
”
.
Crockett ahora está tra
b
a
j
a
n
d
o
p
a
r
a
h
a
c
e
r
realidad ese sen
t
i
m
i
e
n
t
o
e
n
tr
e
g
a
n
d
o
copias a cada bib
l
i
o
t
e
c
a
d
e
l
c
o
n
d
a
d
o
d
e
Hennepin, biblio
t
e
c
a
e
s
c
o
l
a
r
,
c
u
r
a
d
o
r
d
e
Arte y Cultura, ay
u
n
t
a
m
i
e
n
t
o
y
m
i
e
m
b
r
o
d
e
la Junta Escolar en
E
d
i
n
a
.
“El propósito pri
n
ci
p
al
d
e
e
s
t
e
l
i
b
r
o
fue comunicar a
l
a
c
o
m
u
n
i
d
a
d
s
o
b
r
e
el
notable trabajo q
u
e
h
a
r
e
a
l
i
z
a
d
o
e
s
t
e
escultor”, afirmó
C
r
o
c
k
e
t
t
.
“
E
s
t
a
m
o
s
utilizando el libro
c
o
m
o
u
n
a
h
e
r
r
a
m
i
e
n
t
a
de comunicación p
a
r
a
i
n
f
o
r
m
a
r
m
e
j
o
r
al público sobre la
n
a
t
u
r
a
l
e
z
a
d
e
e
s
t
e
arte público que no
s
r
o
d
e
a
y
a
y
u
d
a
r
l
o
a
comprender el talen
t
o
y
e
l
e
s
f
u
e
r
z
o
q
u
e
implica”.
Los ejemplares de
Nick Legeros: Sculpting
a Life se pueden compra
r
e
n
l
a
F
u
n
d
a
c
i
ó
n
Comunitaria Edi
n
a
,
6
7
5
0
F
r
a
n
c
e
A
v
e
.
S
.
,
Suite 220, o a tr
a
v
é
s
d
e
I
t
a
s
c
a
B
o
o
k
s
.
La escultura “Dreams
T
a
k
e
F
l
i
g
h
t
”
,
d
e
Ni
c
k
L
e
g
e
r
o
s
f
u
e
d
o
n
a
d
a
a
l
a
c
i
u
d
a
d
e
n
2
0
1
5
.
L
a
o
b
r
a
,
u
b
i
c
a
d
a
en Edina Promenade
,
r
e
pr
e
s
e
n
t
a
a
d
o
s
n
i
ñ
o
s
q
u
e
s
u
e
ñ
a
n
c
o
n
e
l
f
u
t
u
r
o
d
e
l
a
a
v
i
a
c
i
ó
n
.
(Foto de archivo)
Varias de las escultura
s
d
e
l
a
r
t
i
s
t
a
N
i
c
k
Legeros se exh
i
b
e
n
e
n
E
d
i
n
a
,
e
n
t
r
e
e
l
l
a
s
,
l
a
s
siguientes:
•Coach Ike, Brae
m
a
r
A
r
e
n
a
,
7
5
0
1
I
k
o
l
a
W
a
y
•Dreams Take Flig
h
t
,
E
d
i
n
a
P
r
o
m
e
n
a
d
e
•Reflecting on Frie
n
d
s
h
i
p
,
C
e
n
t
e
n
n
i
a
l
Lakes Park, 7499 F
r
a
n
c
e
A
v
e
.
S
.
•Reflection of Me, E
d
i
n
a
P
r
o
m
e
n
a
d
e
•The Glamourous Days
o
f
F
l
i
g
h
t
,
Edina Promenade
Magaalada Edina EdinaMN.gov 1
Legeros wuxuu Nolosha
k
u
X
a
r
d
h
a
y
B
u
u
g
C
u
s
u
b
Edina Sculptor waxay Bar
t
a
a
A
k
h
r
i
s
t
a
y
a
a
s
h
a
S
i
d
a
'
L
o
o
m
u
u
j
i
y
o
W
a
x
a
a
n
l
a
c
a
b
i
k
a
r
i
n
'
EE RICARDO ACOSTA
Dadka deegaanka ayaa hadda w
a
x
k
a
a
k
h
r
i
n
kara farshaxanka iyo hannaankiisa
a
b
u
u
r
i
s
t
a
dhowr qaybood oo farshaxanka da
d
w
e
y
n
a
h
a
a
h
buug cusub oo ay soo saartay Edina
C
o
m
m
u
n
i
t
y
Foundation sannadkan oo ku saabsan
E
d
i
n
a
N
i
c
k
Legeros oo u dhashay Edina.
Buugga, Nick Legeros: Farshaxanka Nol
o
s
h
a
,
waxaa qorey qoraa iyo wariyaha mudda
a
d
h
e
e
r
e
e
Karin Winegar. Buuggu wuxuu siinayaa t
i
l
m
a
a
m
o
ku saabsan nolosha Legeros ee farshaxanka
i
y
o
farshaxanno badan oo laga h
e
l
i
k
a
r
o
a
g
a
g
a
a
r
k
a
Magaalooyinka Mataanaha ah.
“Kaliya maahan liis-garaynta
s
h
a
q
a
d
a
y
d
a
;
d
h
a
b
ahaantii waxay maraysaa geed
d
i
-
s
o
c
o
d
k
a
,
labadaba tallaabo tallaabo oo ku
s
a
a
b
s
a
n
s
i
d
a
loo sameeyo iyo dhinaca hal -abuu
r
k
a
:
s
i
d
a
l
o
o
sameeyo qaab, sidaan wax u aragn
o
,
s
i
d
a
a
a
n
u
aragno adduunka, ”ayuu yiri Legeros.
Legeros wuxuu ka shaqeeyaa istuu
d
i
y
a
h
a
Bronze-Ribbon Bronze, gallery iyo m
a
c
d
a
n
t
a
e
e
Waqooyi-bari Minneapolis. Wuxuu ku
s
h
a
q
e
e
y
a
a
oo keliya komishan wuxuuna farshaxann
a
d
i
i
s
a
siiyay macaamiil kala duwan oo ay ku jiraa
n
magaalooyin, qoysas iyo meherado. Qaar k
a
mid ah qaybaha la garan karo
w
a
x
a
a
k
a
m
i
d
a
h
taallada Goldy Gopher ee jaam
a
c
a
d
d
a
M
i
n
n
e
s
o
t
a
kambaska Magaalooyinka Mataa
n
a
h
a
a
h
,
taalladiisa Sid Hartman oo ka baxs
a
n
X
a
r
u
n
t
a
Bartilmaameedka ee badhtamaha m
a
g
a
a
l
a
d
a
Minneapolis, iyo laba farshaxan oo lo
o
s
a
m
e
e
y
a
y
in lagu xuso Northwest Airlines iyo hog
g
a
a
n
k
a
Donald Nyrop ee Centennial Lakes P
a
r
k
e
e
E
d
i
n
a
.
“Carruurta ku nool degmada dug
s
i
g
a
m
a
r
k
a
a
y
buuggan soo qaadaan, waxay tan u
a
r
k
i
k
a
r
a
a
n
suurtogalnimada [xirfadda], ama kuw
a
k
u
l
l
i
y
a
d
d
a
ee farshaxanka waxay arki karaan in ni
n
k
a
n
i
samayn karo,” ayuu yidhi Legeros. "Run
t
i
i
w
a
l
i
g
a
y
ma arag noloshayda oo buug loo rogay, la
a
k
i
i
n
hadda waa la sameeyay, waa wax fiican in
l
a
helo." Buuggu wuxuu ahaa fikrad uu markii hore
d
a
b
a
d
a
ka riixayay John Horn, oo aha
a
m
a
d
a
x
w
e
y
n
i
h
i
i
hawlgabka ahaa ee Northwest
A
i
r
l
i
n
e
s
,
m
a
r
k
i
i
dambena wuxuu noqday mid dh
a
b
a
h
o
o
u
u
taageero ka helay Agaasimaha Ful
i
n
t
a
A
a
s
a
a
s
k
a
Bulshada Edina Dick Crockett.
“John Horn wuxuu u maleeyay ina
y
t
a
h
a
y
w
a
x
s
o
o
jiidasho leh wuxuuna u maleeyay in
d
a
d
a
a
d
u
t
i
r
o
yar ay fahmi doonaan wuxuuna la ya
a
b
a
n
y
a
h
a
y
haddii ay jirto si kale oo u sharxi karta
h
o
w
s
h
a
o
o
u sahli karta,” ayuu yiri Legeros, isagoo r
a
a
c
i
y
a
y
i
n
Horn uu inta badan yimaado istuudiyaha s
i
u
u
u
daawado geedi-socodka hal-abuurka laga b
i
l
a
a
b
o
Daabacaadda: Edina
NOFEMBER 2021
Nuqul 8, Mawduuc 11
Aasaas AdagHIMILOOYINKA MAGAALADA:
Wadajir Wanaagsan
Adeeg lagu Kalsoonaan karo
Magaalo Lagu noolaan karo
kursiga safka hore. "Runtii wuxuu
r
a
b
a
y
w
a
x
u
u
siin karo maktabadaha iyo dugsiyad
a
s
i
d
a
d
k
u
u
bartaan in kani yahay xirfad dhab ah
.
"
Crockett wuxuu hadda ka shaqeyn
a
y
a
a
s
i
d
i
i
dareenkaasi u noqon lahaa mid dhab
a
h
i
s
a
g
o
o
nuqullo siinaya maktabad kasta oo ka
t
i
r
s
a
n
Degmada Hennepin, maktabadda dugs
i
g
a
,
guddoomiyaha Farshaxanka & Dhaqanka
,
G
o
l
a
h
a
Magaalada iyo xubinta Guddiga Dugsiga e
e
E
d
i
n
a
.
“Ujeeddada koowaad ee buuggan waxay
ahayd in uu xiriiryo bulshada iyo bulshada
ballaadhan lwaxqabadkii caa
n
k
a
a
h
a
a
e
e
farshaxan-yaqaankaasi sameey
a
y
,
”
a
y
u
u
y
i
r
i
Crockett. "Waxaan u adeegsana
y
n
a
a
b
u
u
g
g
a
aalad isgaarsiineed si aan si wanaa
g
s
a
n
u
g
u
wargelino dadweynaha ku saabsan
d
a
b
e
e
c
a
d
d
a
farshaxankan dadweynaha ee nagu w
a
r
e
e
g
s
a
n
oo aan ka caawinno inay fahmaan kart
i
d
a
i
y
o
dadaalka galaya samaynta."
Nuqulada Nick Legeros: Farshaxanka Nolosha
waxaa laga iibsan karaa Edina Com
m
u
n
i
t
y
Foundation, 6750 France Ave. S., S
u
i
t
e
2
2
0
,
a
m
a
Buugaagta Itasca.
Farshaxanka Nick Legeros ee “Riyooyinka
Q
a
a
d
a
s
h
a
d
a
D
u
u
l
i
m
a
a
d
k
a
”
a
y
a
a
l
o
o
g
u
d
e
e
q
a
y
Magaalada 2015. Farshaxanku, wuxuu ku
y
a
a
l
l
a
a
E
d
i
n
a
P
r
o
m
e
n
a
d
e
,
w
u
x
u
u
n
a
s
a
w
i
r
a
a
l
a
b
a
carruur ah oo ku riyoonaya mustaqbalka
d
u
u
l
i
s
t
a
.
(Sawir Fayl)
Dhawr farshaxan oo Nick Legeros fa
r
s
h
a
x
a
n
k
i
i
s
a
ayaa lagu soo bandhigay Edina, oo ay
k
a
m
i
d
y
i
h
i
i
n
:
•Tababare Ike, Braemar Arena
,
7
5
0
1
I
k
o
l
a
W
a
y
•Riyooyinku Waxay Qaadaan Duu
l
i
m
a
a
d
,
E
d
i
n
a
Promenade •Milicsiga Saaxiibtinimada, Centenn
i
a
l
L
a
k
e
s
Park, 7499 France Ave. S.
•Milicsiga Aniga, Edina Promenade
•Maalmaha Quruxda Badan ee Duulimaadk
a
,
Edina Promenade
Email
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City of Edina EdinaMN.gov1
Legeros Sculpts Lif
e
i
n
N
e
w
B
o
o
k
Edina Sculptor T
e
a
c
h
e
s
R
e
a
d
e
r
s
H
o
w
t
o
‘
E
x
p
r
e
s
s
t
h
e
I
n
e
x
p
r
e
s
s
i
b
l
e
’
BY RICARDO ACOSTA Residents can now read a
b
o
u
t
a
n
a
r
t
i
s
t
and his process for creati
n
g
s
e
v
e
r
a
l
p
u
b
l
i
c
art pieces in a new boo
k
p
r
o
d
u
c
e
d
t
h
i
s
year by the Edina Com
m
u
n
i
t
y
F
o
u
n
d
a
t
i
o
n
about Edina native Ni
c
k
L
e
g
e
r
o
s
.
The book, Nick Legeros: Sculpting a
Life, was written by longtime writ
e
r
a
n
d
journalist Karin Wine
g
a
r
.
T
h
e
b
o
o
k
g
i
v
e
s
highlights of Legeros’ life as an
a
r
t
i
s
t
a
n
d
his many sculptures that can b
e
f
o
u
n
d
around the Twin Cities.“It’s not just a catalog of my w
o
r
k
;
i
t
really does go through the pro
c
e
s
s
,
b
o
t
h
the step by step on how to d
o
i
t
a
n
d
t
h
e
creative aspect of it: how to
m
a
k
e
f
o
r
m
,
how we perceive things, h
o
w
w
e
s
e
e
t
h
e
world,” explained Legero
s
.Legeros works out of his Bl
u
e
-
R
i
b
b
o
n
Bronze studio, gallery and
f
o
u
n
d
r
y
i
n
Northeast Minneapolis. H
e
w
o
r
k
s
o
n
l
y
b
y
commission and has pro
v
i
d
e
d
h
i
s
a
r
t
t
o
a wide variety of client
s
,
i
n
c
l
u
d
i
n
g
c
i
t
i
e
s
,
families and business
e
s
.
S
o
m
e
r
e
c
o
g
n
i
z
a
b
l
e
pieces include the Goldy Gopher
s
t
a
t
u
e
on the University of Minnesota
T
w
i
n
C
i
t
i
e
s
campus, his statue of Sid Hart
m
a
n
o
u
t
s
i
d
e
Target Center in downtown
M
i
n
n
e
a
p
o
l
i
s
,
and two sculptures made to
c
o
m
m
e
m
o
r
a
t
e
Northwest Airlines and the
l
e
a
d
e
r
s
h
i
p
o
f
Donald Nyrop at Centenn
i
a
l
L
a
k
e
s
P
a
r
k
i
n
Edina.
“Kids in the school district
w
h
e
n
t
h
e
y
p
i
c
k
this book up, they can se
e
t
h
i
s
a
s
a
[
c
a
r
e
e
r
]
possibility, or those in c
o
l
l
e
g
e
f
o
r
t
h
e
a
r
t
s
can see that this guy c
o
u
l
d
d
o
i
t
,
”
s
a
i
d
Legeros. “I never reall
y
s
a
w
m
y
l
i
f
e
b
e
i
n
g
turned into a book, but now tha
t
i
t
’
s
done, it’s kind of nice to have.”The book was an idea that was f
i
r
s
t
pushed for by John Horn, the re
t
i
r
e
d
president of Northwest Airline
s
,
a
n
d
l
a
t
e
r
became a reality with the sup
p
o
r
t
o
f
E
d
i
n
a
Community Foundation Exe
c
u
t
i
v
e
D
i
r
e
c
t
o
r
Dick Crockett. “John Horn thought it was f
a
s
c
i
n
a
t
i
n
g
and thought that very few
p
e
o
p
l
e
w
o
u
l
d
understand it and was wo
n
d
e
r
i
n
g
i
f
t
h
e
r
e
was some way that woul
d
e
x
p
l
a
i
n
t
h
e
process and make it mo
r
e
a
c
c
e
s
s
i
b
l
e
,
”
s
a
i
d
Legeros, adding that H
o
r
n
o
f
t
e
n
c
o
m
e
s
to his studio to watch
t
h
e
c
r
e
a
t
i
v
e
p
r
o
c
e
s
s
from a front-row seat. “He really
w
a
n
t
e
d
something that he could give t
o
l
i
b
r
a
r
i
e
s
Edition: Edina
NOVEMBER 2021Volume 8, Issue 11
Strong Foundation
CITY GOALS:
Better Together
Reliable Service Livable City
and schools so people can l
e
a
r
n
t
h
a
t
t
h
i
s
i
s
a real career.”Crockett is now working on
m
a
k
i
n
g
t
h
a
t
sentiment a reality by givin
g
c
o
p
i
e
s
t
o
every Hennepin County li
b
r
a
r
y
,
s
c
h
o
o
l
library, Arts & Culture co
m
m
i
s
s
i
o
n
e
r
,
C
i
t
y
Council and School Boa
r
d
m
e
m
b
e
r
i
n
Edina.
“The primary purpose o
f
t
h
i
s
b
o
o
k
w
a
s
to communicate to the
c
o
m
m
u
n
i
t
y
a
n
d
broader community a
b
o
u
t
t
h
e
n
o
t
a
b
l
e
work this sculptor has done,” sai
d
Crockett. “We are using the bo
o
k
a
s
a
communication tool to better i
n
f
o
r
m
t
h
e
public about the nature of thi
s
p
u
b
l
i
c
art that is around us and hel
p
t
h
e
m
understand the talent and
e
f
f
o
r
t
t
h
a
t
g
o
e
s
in to making it.”Copies of Nick Legeros: Sculpting a Life can be purchased at the
E
d
i
n
a
Community Foundation, 675
0
F
r
a
n
c
e
A
v
e
.
S., Suite 220, or through Itasc
a
B
o
o
k
s
.
Nick Legeros’ sculpture “Drea
m
s
T
a
k
e
F
l
i
g
h
t
”
w
a
s
d
o
n
a
t
e
d
t
o
t
h
e
C
i
t
y
i
n
2
0
1
5
.
T
h
e
a
r
t
,
l
o
c
a
t
e
d
on the Edina Promenade, depic
t
s
t
w
o
c
h
i
l
d
r
e
n
d
r
e
a
m
i
n
g
o
f
t
h
e
f
u
t
u
r
e
o
f
a
v
i
a
t
i
o
n
.
(File Photo)
Several of artist Nic
k
L
e
g
e
r
o
s
’
s
c
u
l
p
t
u
r
e
s
are on display in Edina, includi
n
g
: •Coach Ike, Braemar Arena, 750
1
I
k
o
l
a
Way •Dreams Take Flight, Edina Pr
o
m
e
n
a
d
e •Reflecting on Friendship,
C
e
n
t
e
n
n
i
a
l
Lakes Park, 7499 France Av
e
.
S
. •Reflection of Me, Edina
P
r
o
m
e
n
a
d
e •The Glamourous Day
s
o
f
F
l
i
g
h
t
,
E
d
i
n
a
Promenade
Fireworks begin at 10 tonight at Rosland Park!
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AboutTown MagazineCity of Edina
4801 West 50th Street
Edina, MN 55424
EdinaMN.gov
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