Keewaydin addition will go south

Park board working to figure out what to do about the playground, wading pool that will be displaced

by Tesha M. Christensen

What will the $16 million addition at Keewaydin look like? Community members looked at a preliminary design for the first time on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012.

While the design presented will be refined over the next three months, the decision has been made to build to the south of the building. This will displace the wading pool and playgrounds currently on the property. However, it means that the baseball and soccer fields will remain untouched.

Community member Michele Honderick stated that in this tough economic time, “We cannot afford to actually replace the equipment we already have in place.” She asked why the decision to build south was made, and expressed support for an addition on the east.

Minneapolis Park Board Planner Jennifer Ringold explained why the park department supported a school addition on the south side, even though it means displacing the existing playground and wading pool. “This wasn’t an easy decision,” she said.

Ringold noted that the existing fields are well used. If they were moved south, it would place them too close to the park building. A playground costs about $300,000 to replace, and a wading pool about $500,000; a building is much more expensive, she said.

The lifespan of a playground is 20 years, Ringold pointed out. The existing playground, installed with funds from the school, the park and the Nokomis East Neighborhood Association, was built 13 years ago. The wading pool was installed in 1970 and is already 40 years old.

The playground and the pool “are the ones that will reach their life expectancies the fastest,” she said.

The park department held a meeting on Saturday, Jan. 21 to solicit input from community members about priorities at the park. From those comments, a new master plan for the park will be created. The new plan will be reviewed by the park board in February.

The parks department has not yet identified where the money to move and/or purchase new playground equipment and a pool will come from.

Ringold noted that as the parks department evaluates whether it can merely move the existing playground equipment, it must consider whether the equipment would survive the move. Additionally, the equipment must meet existing safety and handicap-accessible standards. The parks department had not yet determined whether the existing equipment meet those criteria, but Ringold said it was likely the items for younger children could be successfully moved.

Keewaydin Principal Jane Ellis noted that from the start, the number one issue for the building steering committee has been the playground and wading pool.

“We want that playground back,” agreed Doug Walters of the Nokomis East Neighborhood Association.

A BIGGER SCHOOL

Keewaydin’s space will double with the new addition. As presented on Jan. 19, the majority of the $16 million available for the project will be used to construct new space. Targeted areas in the existing structure will be remodeled. Work will start as soon as this school year ends and be finished the summer of 2013.

A key part of the plan is that there will be an educational wing and a public wing. The education wing (located in the existing structure) can be locked at night when the performance space and gymnasium in the addition are being used.

“Our goal is to create 21st century middle school-grade classrooms and instructional spaces,” observed Dave Richards, a Minneapolis Public Schools capital planning staff member.

“What we’re doing here is we’re closing the gap,” explained Richards. “The gap has widened in the recent years.” The school will be brought up to current Educational Index Improvement standards with this project. Richards noted that the age of the kids served in the building has changed since it was constructed in 1928, as well as the programs themselves. One example is performance spaces. Whereas once they were only found in high school, now they are included in middle schools.

An audience member questioned whether there are enough students to warrant an addition. Richards remarked that the 2010 Census data shows that enrollment is increasing. “There are simply more kids in the area,” he said.

Will taxes rise because of this project? The cost will be paid by bonds, Richards explained. “The impact on property taxes will be zero.”

He added that changes to school buildings within the Minneapolis Public School system has never negatively affected property values of homes next to them.

Keewaydin parent and project steering committee member Jay Larson pointed out that the biggest issue in planning meetings has been the existing 84- by 50-foot gymnasium. “It’s very hard to teach students in this space,” remarked Keewadin Athletic Director Jennifer Dowzak. The new addition will include a competition-size gym that can be divided into two areas. It will seat 250 spectators.

“The goal is much more than an educational building,” stated Jay Larson. “It’s an opportunity for this community to come together.”

Matt Musich’s son attends Keewaydin. “I’m really excited about this project,” he stated. “This is an investment in our community for the long term.”

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SIDEBAR

Highlights of the school project

Architect Elena Peltsman of RSP Architects presented preliminary details of the project design during the Jan. 19 community meeting. Highlights include:

• The new addition will not be taller than the existing building, but will be about 30 to 31 feet tall.

• Based on the request of the student council, there will be a commons area for students to hang out in.

• The existing courtyard will be enclosed rather than filled in so that the classroom will retain natural light from the windows facing the courtyard.

• The administration area will be moved to the new facility, next to the new entrance to serve as gatekeepers and increase safety and security at the school.

• A designated bus area will be carved out of the east side of the building to ease traffic and congestion concerns on the street.

• Bathrooms will be part of the addition that will be big enough to serve the gym and performance space. It is not yet know if the existing bathrooms will be remodeled.

• The existing parking lots on both the north and the south will remained; the south side will be expanded slightly from 20 parking spots to 28.

• On the south side of the building, a hard surface play area with basketball hoops will be constructed. In the future, that space could be used for another addition, possibly as parks and recreation space.

• The existing gym will become a general music room.

• The current kitchen and lunchroom will be turned into an art room.

• The performance space and gym will be located in the center of the building so that rooms on the edges of the building can take advantage of window space. 

This story printed in the February edition of the Longfellow/Nokomis Messenger. http://longfellownokomismessenger.com/

Xcel power lines will go underground, Hiawatha West substation design not yet determined

Longfellow residents pushed for high-profile design to minimize disruption of trees planted at Hiawatha and 28th Street

by Tesha M. Christensen

Neighborhood advocates are pleased with the Public Utilities Commission 4-1 vote to require Xcel Energy to place high voltage lines underground along 28th Street rather than overhead along the Midtown Greenway.

“We’re thrilled with the news that the power lines will be buried under 28th street.  It’s been a long struggle, over many years,” said Midtown Greenway Coalition Executive Director Soren Jensen.

“Our coalition brought neighborhood groups together to provide a unified voice against the lines in the Greenway,” he added. “We hired an attorney, and worked together with the neighborhood groups to oppose the lines in the Greenway.”

The decision about the power lines was made following a day of testimony on Jan. 10, 2012 and another meeting on Jan. 12, ending a three-year permitting process.

In addition to placing two 115-kilovolt transmission lines underground for 1.5 miles, two distribution substations will be built on either end, one in the Longfellow neighborhood at Hiawatha and 28th Street. The entire project will cost $40 million.

The commission delayed deciding who will pay for the additional $13 million cost of burying the lines for another six months to gather more public input and information. It may be split between Xcel customers in Minneapolis, customers in Hennepin County or the total Xcel customer base.

Construction will be complete in 2014. The lines will be placed as close as possible to the middle of 28th Street, which will remain partially open during construction.

DESTRUCTION OF GREEN SPACE

Longfellow Community Council  (LCC) Housing and Environment Coordinator Spencer Agnew spoke during the Jan. 10 public hearing on behalf of the LCC. The community council joined with other neighborhood organizations to support placing two 115-kilovolt transmission lines underground. That line will run through the Phillips neighborhood from Hiawatha to Oakland Avenue South.

Agnew pointed out, “All of the impacted neighborhoods opposed the placement of the Hiawatha Substation on the Hiawatha West site. The Hiawatha West site had been the focus of neighborhood planning and investment for years to develop a community green space.”

The neighborhood council had pushed for the substation to be located off Hiawatha at 32nd Street, in an area that is currently empty.

The land on the east side of the Sabo bridge has been the focus of Arbor Day tree-planting events in an effort to transform the “brown space” into “green space.”

According to Longfellow Community Council Environment and Transportation Committee member Eric Hart, when the Sabo Midtown Greenway Bridge over Hiawatha Avenue was built in 2007, the entire area on the east side of Hiawatha Avenue from 26th Street south to the railroad tracks was identified as green space and a gateway area to the bridge and the Longfellow/Seward section of the Midtown Greenway.

Midtown Community Works Partnership (MCWP), a coalition of government entities, the Midtown Greenway Coalition, and private businesses with a presence along the Midtown Greenway, organized Arbor Day tree plantings in the space in both 2008 and 2009. During the first year, the area closest to the Sabo Bridge was planted with 234 trees and shrubs by over 200 volunteers. The next year, the group focused on the area where Hiawatha substation will be constructed. Approximately 150 volunteers planted 258 trees and shrubs there in April 2009.

In addition to loss of green space and conflicts with 10 years of land use planning, the Hiawatha West site has the following problems, according to Agnew:

• A Hiawatha West substation is very close to affordable housing – the substation design could affect noise as well as views from adjacent apartments.

• A Hiawatha West substation would be visible from both the Midtown Greenway and the new $5.2 million Sabo Bridge, providing visual impacts both on trail users and LRT passengers at the gateway to south Minneapolis.

•  A “low profile” substation could use up the entire site, preventing replacement of trees and green space and also preventing development of a planned bike trail connection from the Greenway to Lake Street.

Longfellow and other neighborhood parties requested specific mitigation measures if the Hiawatha West site were determined to be the only feasible choice for a substation:

1. That the high-profile smaller footprint of the substation be used to protect the Greenway and trail extension to Lake Street.

2. That connecting high voltage lines and feeder lines be placed underground to reduce impacts.

3. That an artist should be involved in the design of the substation and consideration given to using berms and digging below grade to reduce visual impacts.

4. That walls should surround all four sides of the substation and that walls be made graffiti resistant, potentially by planting vegetation to cover them.

5. That plantings and landscaping consistent with the Midtown Greenway landscaping plan be provided on all four sides of the substation.

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission did not explicitly adopt any of these specific items recommended by the Longfellow Community Council; however, it did adopt those made by Administrative Law Judge Beverly Jones Heydinger with a few slight changes:

“The substation shall be designed and constructed to minimize the impact of the project on the persons living and working in close proximity to it to the extent practicable. The HVTL Route Permit shall contain procedures which allow an opportunity for the parties of record to provide input into a) placement of the Hiawatha West Substation on the approved site, b) the substation’s wall design, lighting and landscaping. These efforts will be made to minimize disruption to the current and planned Midtown Greenway bicycle and pedestrian trails, to minimize the aesthetic impact, and assure compatibility with the surrounding structures to the extent practicable.”

The first opportunity to impact design will be offered to the city and county, not community organizations or the public, according to former Midtown Greenway Coalition Executive Director Tim Springer. “However, there may be opportunities for community members or a few individuals representing them to engage with the process in round one if invited to do so by city or county elected officials.”

Hart stated, “We are disappointed that other locations were not looked at further or a different configuration on the site that Xcel wanted was not worked out that would minimize damage to the plantings.

“The conditions that were put in place by the [Administrative Law] Judge are to our liking and LCC looks forward to working with Xcel Energy and other relevant organizations to make the substation as acceptable as it could be given its size and configuration.”

NEED FOR TRANSMISSION LINE

The Hiawatha Transmission Line will carry 55 megawatts of power, enough to serve 50,000 customers. According to the certificate of need filed by Xcel, the Hiawatha Project will provide the transmission capacity needed to maintain reliable service to the area and to support continued economic development in the future. Energy demand has increased due to the development of the Midtown Exchange, the construction of high-density development along the lightrail corridor, and improvements along the Chicago Avenue corridor by Abbott Northwestern and Children’s Hospitals.

Xcel maintains, “The Hiawatha Project will provide the transmission capacity needed to maintain reliable service to the area and to support continued economic development in the future.”

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ABOUT THE HIAWATHA TRANSMISSION PROJECT

• Xcel initially applied for a permit on April 24, 2009 to construct two new 115 kV single circuit transmission lines approximately 1.5 miles in length and two new distribution substations in the Midtown District.

• The Hiawatha Substation will be approximately 2.25 acres in size. It will be located on the east side of Hiawatha Avenue slightly south of the intersection of Hiawatha Avenue and East 28th Street. Currently this site is an open area owned by the Minnesota Department of Transportation, no business relocation would be needed.

The estimated cost for construction of the Hiawatha West substation site is $14.3 million.

• The underground transmission lines shall be placed in a concrete duct system. The underground line will require two identical concrete duct banks, containing four 6-inch PVC conduits for transmission circuits and two 2-inch PVC conduits for ground continuity and communication needs.

THE ISSUES

• Magnetic field exposure to residents and Midtown Greenway trail users in the area if the lines were above ground.

• Disruption of Midtown Greenway aesthetics if high voltage lines were erected on the trail.

• Loss of trees planted by volunteers on the east side of the Sabo Bridge if the Hiawatha West substation was built there.

• Disruption of planned trail connection from the Greenway to Lake Street by the Hiawatha West substation building.

• Cost to residents: who will pay the increased $13 million cost to run the power lines underground? Minneapolis residents or Xcel’s entire customer base?

Story printed in the February edition of the Longfellow/Nokomis Messenger. longfellownokomismessenger.com