July 12, 2005 - Ten years after it was first established, the Management Review Team of NRP was discontinued by the NRP Policy Board at its June 27 meeting. MRT was replaced by a process that encourages the integration of information from affected jurisdictions into neighborhood planning in the earliest stages of Neighborhood Action Plan (NAP) development.

What does that mean to the average person who comes to meetings to have their say?

There will be at least one meeting that a lot of resource people will attend. When a neighborhood gets its Phase II Participation Agreement approved, nine different government representatives will be provided with the names and contact information for the NRP staff person and key neighborhood contact person. Within 90 days of the date of this notification a meeting, organized by NRP, will be held at which jurisdictions can provide helpful information to the neighborhood: demographics (census and trends), lists of organizations willing to assist the neighborhood, staff names, areas of expertise/responsibility and contact information. The jurisdictional representatives are also to provide information on programs and initiatives already happening in the neighborhoods, capital and public infrastructure projects planned in the next five years, and "small area" and other plans that affect the neighborhood or should influence strategies to be included in the NAP.

Which jurisdictions and agencies are involved?

The City Council Member for the ward/wards of the neighborhood, the Minneapolis City Coordinator and the Hennepin County Administrator will be notified when a planning process starts. Representatives from the parks, schools, libraries, police, public works and Minneapolis Community Planning and Economic Development Department will also be invited to participate.

Who determines neighborhood priorities?

Neighborhood residents will still be the ones responsible for developing their vision, identifying their goals and forming the objectives and strategies that will be the heart of their NAP. They can seek the feedback of jurisdiction professionals and ask for their help in answering questions such as: Is the jurisdiction a potential partner? Can past efforts provide important lessons? What other resources are there? If an existing program could be improved, neighborhood residents can suggest adjustments and propose new activities.

Is there further jurisdiction review of plans?

Yes. After strategies are drafted, and before the NAP is presented to the neighborhood for review and approval, the NRP Neighborhood Specialist will help organize a final consultation with the jurisdictions involved, to identify anything that needs clarifying, more information, or that is possibly in direct conflict with something that exists. This is also an opportunity for jurisdictions to incorporate the proposed work into their business plans and budgets.

And finally, after the neighborhood has approved the NAP, the jurisdictions and agencies will have 15 days to comment on plans and provide contact information for the person with whom the neighborhood can work to resolve raised issues. NRP may arrange and facilitate meetings to resolve concerns, and if the concerns do not get resolved, will bring the concerns and the NAP to the Policy Board for review.

Like the Community And Resource Exchange program (CARE), which preceded NRP, neighborhood residents will now have more opportunities to interact with the creative, expert resources available in the city and other jurisdictions, and to show those resource people the opportunities they have to interact with neighborhoods and each other, and multiply their impact.

####