The Mississippi and Minneapolis Locks [Video]

The rushing of the waters over St. Anthony Dam and the locks provided great entertainment on May 6, 2011, when Sara Mayfield and Gay Pogue visited Minneapolis.

Crown Hydro's Senate Bill 1191 Laid Over - NoCrownHydro.org

From Minneapolis Park Watch:

CROWN HYDRO'S SENATE BILL 1191 LAID OVER

SF1911, Crown Hydro's land grab bill, was heard in the Senate Local Government Committee Wednesday, May 4, 2011.  Testifying for the bill were Senator Gen Olson and Crown Hydro lobbyist Jim Erickson.  Testifying for the Park Board were MPRB President John Erwin, MPRB Superintendent Jayne Miller, League of Minnesota Cities representative Craig Johnson and Minneapolis resident Arlene Fried.  There was no vote; the bill was laid over.  It could die or it possibly could be heard in committee on short notice next week.

Arlene Fried
Co-founder of Park Watch

Crown Hydro Senate Bill Update

From Minneapolis Park Watch:

The following comments were offered during testimony on the Crown Hydro Bill in the Committee on Local Government at the Capitol today:

May 4, 2011

Re: SF 1191

Committee Members:

Thank you for the opportunity to speak before you today about Senate File 1191.

I believe that this bill usurps the authority of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board by attempting to compel the MPRB to transfer Park Board property to a private, for-profit entity that has not been able to allay Park Board and public concerns about the project's economic validity and negative impacts on the historic St. Anthony Falls and adjacent historic and cultural resources.

I have been attending Park Board meetings on a regular basis for over seven years now. I have been present at the many meetings at which Crown Hydro has been on the agenda. It was a frequent topic. If this project was one of unquestionable and apparent merit, it would have been approved long ago. Unfortunately, it remains a controversial and risky project. The Crown Hydro folks are asking you to do what the MPRB Commissioners, as stewards of our park system, have been unwilling to do. Please respect their decision-making authority. I urge you to vote against this irresponsible and embarrassing bill.

Thank you.

Arlene Fried Minneapolis MN

Crown Hydro Park Board Meeting Recap

Just returned from the meeting, it's late, I'm tired, so this will be short:

- In 2 days we (collectively) rallied over 40 people to attend who oppose the project, 11 spoke against, none for

- Superintendent Miller brought a last minute (literally) proposal to the Board to vote on

- Only 3, the same old 3, were for putting it to a vote

- Board President Erwin moved to table to give the Board time to consider

- Motion passed

Next meeting May 18.

Crown Hydro Memorandum & Letter of Intent from Jayne Miller, Superintendent of the Minneapolis Park Board

Wow, this came out of the blue.  After a carefull reading I don't see how this provides the assurances needed to move this forward.  More detailed analysis tomorrow.

View the document here...

Crown Hydro News - A Park Watch Commentary: Time is Money

By Arlene Fried

A PARK WATCH COMMENTARY: TIME IS MONEY

Later today, Crown Hydro is on the Park Board's agenda. And so far, they have not provided the commissioners or the public with any supporting documents as requested. It is expected, when companies/organizations are on the Park Board's agenda, that there be supporting documents provided for the commissioners and the public to review the Friday before the meeting, especially if there is to be a vote.

The commissioners are expected to vote on something Crown Hydro-related, but who knows what? How can any responsible government official vote on anything it--or the public--has not carefully reviewed? This is not the first time that Crown has waited until the last minute to produce documents. So are the commissioners going to be asked to vote on something they've not adequately reviewed or are they going to be asked to postpone the vote and allow Crown Hydro to return at a later time?

This leads to another question, and that is: How much time should a governmental entity spend on evaluating a project? What is reasonable and what is unreasonable? Seems that an unreasonable amount of staff time has already been allocated to this project. Why do we continue to waste our limited staff resources on this project?! Shouldn't the MPRB have a policy on how much time and staff dollars can go to evaluating one project?

It would seem that the MPRB has already reached any such reasonable time and dollar figure by now that should be allocated to the Crown Hydro project. It is time NOW for our Park Board to protect our tax dollars and stop wasting public funds on this ill-conceived project. It is time to take a stand for responsible government and say no to the Crown Hydro project.

Arlene Fried Co-Founder of Park Watch

Reposted with Permission of Minneapolis Park Watch

Hydroelectric Plant Debate Resumes - Crown Hydro News

From mndaily.com:

The bill, introduced earlier this month by Rep. Mike Beard, R-Shakopee, would not require “consent of any kind” from a city or municipal board to build a federally approved facility like the Crown Hydro project.

Read the full article...

Crown Hydro - Senate Republicans Introduce Partisan Big Government Bill

The Senate will hold it's first hearing today on it's party-line version of a bill ordering the Minneapolis Park Board to practically give away Mill Ruins Park near St. Anthony Falls to a private developer.  The Bill has only 3 authors, all Republican.

Senate Bill SF1191:

Providing an exception to the municipal approval requirement for a hydroelectric facility (Crown Hydro) meeting a certain definition of an eligible energy technology and with a license granted under federal regulation; prohibiting the commissioner of revenue and management and budget (MMB) from disbursing funds to the Minneapolis park and recreation board until board approval under federal regulation for a hydroelectric facility

Interestingly, the bill contains no requirements for Crown Hydro to meet any regulations or oversight at the State or Local level.  Seems like a blank slate for Crown Hydro to do whatever they like to the Mississippi River, St. Anthony Falls and the National Historic Parkland they want given to them.

Every local government body, every Historical & Preservation orgainization, and every local and  state environmental organization has come out strongly against this project.  Yet the Republicans in the House and Senate want Big Government to take away the birthplace of our city and give it to a Michelle Bachmann supporting developer to do God knows what.  God knows what, because Crown Hydro's position is that they can't give any assurances on the impact of their plans until they have control of the land (more on this in an upcoming article) - "Just trust us" in other words.

More information on this bill:
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/revisor/pages/search_status/status_detail.php?b=Senate&f=SF1191&ssn=0&y=2011&ls=87

For more information on what you can do to stop this ill-conceived land grab, go here...
http://millcitytimes.com/minneapolis-riverfront-news/crown-hydro-important-park-board-meeting-tonight.html

Crown Hydro - Important Park Board Meeting Tonight

Hello Friends, Neighbors, and Mill City Times Subscribers:

An important Minneapolis Park Board meeting is taking place on Wednesday, May 4.  The Park Board is scheduled to vote on the Crown Hydro project, proposing to build a Hydro Electric Power Plant in Mill Ruins Park.  Attached is a backgrounder on this project, which has been proposed and denied many times going back to the 1990's.

Your attendance at this meeting will make an impact, the vote will be close, it could go either way.  So help stop this ill-conceived project by taking one or more easy actions:

1. Contact Each Park Board Commissioner to express your views:

John Erwin (Thought to be undecided)

Board president

Commissioner At Large

612-230-6443, Ext. 7

jerwin@minneapolisparks.org

Bob Fine (Thought to be for Crown Hydro)

Commissioner At Large

612-230-6443, Ext. 8

bfine@minneapolisparks.org

M. Annie Young (Thought to be against Crown Hydro)

Commissioner At Large

612-230-6443, Ext. 9

Liz Wielinski (Thought to be against Crown Hydro)

Commissioner District 1

612-230-6443, Ext. 1

lwielinski@minneapolisparks.org

Jon Olson (Thought to be for Crown Hydro)

Commissioner District 2

612-230-6443, Ext. 2

jolson@minneapolisparks.org

Scott Vreeland (Thought to be against Crown Hydro)

Commissioner District 3

612-721-7892

svreeland@minneapolisparks.org

Anita Tabb (Thought to be against Crown Hydro)

Commissioner District 4

612-230-6443 Ext. 4

atabb@minneapolisparks.org

Carol A. Kummer (Thought to be for Crown Hydro)

Commissioner District 5

612-230-6443, Ext. 5

ckummer@minneapolisparks.org

Brad Bourn (Thought to be against Crown Hydro)

Commissioner District 6

612-230-6443, Ext. 6

bbourn@minneapolisparks.org

2. Attend the meeting at Park Board headquarters:

Date - Wednesday, May 4

Time - Meeting begins at 5:00 PM.  Open time for public comment is at 5:30 PM (Don't be late, will probably be a full house).

Place - Minneapolis Park Board HQ at 2117 W. River Road.

3. Contact Minnesota State Rep. David Dill, the lone DFL sponsor of the bill to force the Park Board to give away our National Historic Parkland to Crown Hydro:

- Representative David Dill (DFL) District: 06A

- 651-296-2190

- rep.david.dill@house.mn

- Legislative Assistant: Joan Harrison 651-296-5507

4. Visit our Facebook page at http://NoCrownHydro.org and share your opinion.  Hit the like button while you're there to show that there are many more against this project than for it.

5.  Bookmark http://mplsparkwatch.org/ and http://millcitytimes.com/minneapolis-riverfront-news/ to stay on top of Crown Hydro and riverfront related news.

Thanks so much for your help. You can make a difference!

If you have any questions, please contact me:

David Tinjum

612-321-8020

dave@millcitymedia.org

“It is simply outrageous that the Legislature would even attempt to override the decisions of local government, in this case the Park Board, and compel both the sale of public land and the planning approvals required for a private developer for their private development”
- Minneapolis City Council Member Lisa Goodman (7th Ward)

Crown Hydro Discussion on e-democracy.org

From: Shawne FitzGerald :

New post from a discussion started several years ago:

Every time the bill has been in committee, the bill has been amended. Author Beard is struggling to remove all preference for Crown Hydro so the bill can pass a constitutional test of not being enacted to favor just one corporation.

And...

A park watcher overheard a lobbyist joking in the hall this bill allowing a hydro developer to operate a porn shop in his powerhouse. Does this mean that any developer willing to get a FERC license can build anything along our waterways? There would be no local control.

View the whole thread...