City Briefs April 6

Franklin Avenue redesign
Hennepin County will be reconstructing Franklin Ave. between Lyndale and Chicago avenues in 2025. They held a community meeting in March and posted materials online to gather community input. Options so far include reducing the current four lanes of undivided roadway (median in most areas) to two, adding medians or left turn lanes, as well as landscaping and improving bike and pedestrian areas. Construction is expected in 2026.

France Avenue improvements
As soon as the weather permits it, Hennepin County will begin repaving France Ave (County Road 17) between Excelsior Blvd and 44th St. Improvements will include narrower vehicle lanes, painted medians, and ground-in durable striping.

Washburn-Fair Oaks Historic District
The city is updating the guidelines for the Washburn-Fair Oaks Historic District that is bounded by Franklin Ave., Fourth Ave. S., Interstate 35W, 26th St. and the alley between First Ave and Nicollet. Design guidelines affect what changes can be made to buildings and landscapes in the area. There will be a meeting about the guidelines on Saturday, April 29 at 11 a.m. Contact John Smoley for details at john.smoley@minneapolismn.gov.

Public Space at Lake and Fremont
CommonBond Communities is proposing to build public space as part of their project at the corner of Lake St. and Fremont Ave. They want community members to help design it. Find the survey at https://pplengage.com/1301westlake.

Uptown Transit Station
The bus stop shelter on the east side of Hennepin Ave above the Greenway was closed on March 16 in response to some behavior and drug use at the station. The Metropolitan Council has approved a contract with Allied Universal to provide unarmed security guards at the Franklin and Lake Street Blue Line stations, as well as at the Uptown and the Chicago-Lake stations. There will likely be two guards at each station from 12 to 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The space is expected to be reopened later in the year when security officers are in place.

Transit Plan
Metro Transit is drafting a new plan that will help guide their work for the next five years. They will be holding community workshops online from 5:30-7 p.m., Wednesday, April 26 and 12-1:30 p.m. Friday, April 28 and in-person from 5:30-7 p.m., Thursday, May 4 at the Brian Coyle Neighborhood Center in the Cedar Riverside neighborhood. Take a survey at www.metrotransit.org/Network-Now.

Republican Party Conventions
The Minnesota GOP Congressional District 5 2023 Convention has been scheduled for April 22, at 10 a.m. at the Crystal VFW #494, 5222 Bass Lake Rd. in Crystal. Their more local, Senate District 63 convention was held on March 25 at Burroughs School.

DFL Caucuses and Conventions
The Democratic Farmer Labor (DFL) will hold Ward conventions for each Ward in April and May as follows: Ward 7 on May 21 online, Ward 8 on May 20 online, Ward 10 on May 13 in-person, location yet to be determined, Ward 11 on May 21 online, Ward 12 on April 29 at Roosevelt High School. Ward 13 delegates met on April 1 at Armatage Park and voted to endorse incumbent council member Linea Palmisano for reelection in 2023. See https://minneapolisdfl.org for more information.

New HR Director
Nikki Odom has been hired as chief human resources officer for the city of Minneapolis. She will oversee city employee recruitment, benefits, collective bargaining, labor contract administration, training and more. Prior to joining the city, Odom served as vice president of People & Culture at Minnesota Community Care health center. She received a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a law degree from Marquette University.

The History of Your Home
Washburn Library is offering a workshop in April for people to learn about resources that will help trace the history of homes, neighborhoods and properties using permit records, maps, city directories, and photos. People can register for a session that will be held Saturday, April 29, 10-11:30 a.m. at Washburn Library by visiting the Hennepin County Library website.

Diamond sports study
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board is studying diamond sports facilities like baseball and softball fields across the park system. The study will make recommendations on maintenance standards and programing for each type of facility programming, as well as access, use permits, distribution of facilities and funding.