On April 19 the NRP Policy Board took several actions that will significantly affect neighborhoods and Phase II.

The first action taken by the Board was to accept the recommendations of an independent review panel for the allocation of the $1 million set aside by the Board in August, 2003 for the Community Oriented Public Safety Reserve Fund. A copy of my memorandum transmitting the recommendations of the review panel and the awards accepted by the Board is available at www.nrp.org/R2/News/NewsArch/2004/20040516.html. We are already beginning the process of developing contracts to initiate these programs and you will be hearing more about your "next steps" (i.e. developing the needed Scope of Service) in the next few days.

The most important action taken by the Board was the approval of the individual neighborhood allocations for Phase II. The allocations are based on the formulas distributed to neighborhoods for comment in January and distribute $41 million. (Allocation information is available at www.nrp.org/R2/News/NewsArch/2004/20040517.html).

With the adoption of these allocations, we can now move aggressively into Phase II. Phase II, however, will be, by necessity, different from Phase I and will require attention to planning for the future as well as developing a plan. Many neighborhood leaders have expressed an interest in getting together to talk more about Phase II, and I would like to offer you the opportunity to participate in a frank and open conversation about Phase II planning, the next steps for neighborhoods and how you can prepare for the future.

I have set aside Thursday, June 10 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in Conference Room #3 of the Crown Roller Mill building to talk with you about Phase II plan development, meeting the housing requirement and any other topics that you may wish to discuss. If there are specific items that you would like me to address, you can e-mail them to me at rmiller@nrp.org and I will do my best to include a response in the discussion.

I know that there is much uncertainty and concern about the future and that your commitment to making Minneapolis a better place to live, work, learn and play is still strong. Together we can continue to accomplish the type of changes that NRP has helped achieve over the past 14 years. I look forward to seeing you on Thursday, June 10.

Sincerely,

Robert D. Miller
NRP Director

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