What can we do together?

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District 10 Como Community Council

By Michael Kuchta,

Executive Director

district10@district10comopark.org

Now – when we need to build community more than ever – is the time to have a bigger say in your neighborhood. Nine seats are up for election to the Como Community Council; most do not have an incumbent running. Any renter, homeowner, or other resident of District 10, age 16 or older, is eligible to run. So are representatives from a business, institution, or nonprofit in District 10.

Board seats on the ballot this year are

• vice chair

• treasurer

• one representative each from the neighborhood’s four sub-districts

• two representatives from the neighborhood at-large

Those positions serve two-year terms. In addition, there is a special election to serve the one year remaining on a term from Sub-District 4, which essentially is South Como and Energy Park.

To learn more and to get on the ballot, see https://tinyurl.com/tmwp7jo.

Call or video into D10 meetings

Como Community Council board and committee meetings are continuing, but take place using technology rather than face to face. To obtain links, phone numbers and other information to join the meetings remotely, go to District 10’s website (www.district10comopark.org). Find the meeting by clicking on either the Calendar in the right column, or the “Committee Agendas” link in the “Board News” section (which is toward the bottom of the center column of the home page).

What won’t happen right away

The physical distancing required to fight the Covid-19 pandemic means District 10 has cancelled or postponed a number of spring events. A quick rundown:

• The annual meeting and elections, originally planned for April 21, will be rescheduled. (Candidate applications are still being accepted.)

• The Citywide Drop-Off, originally scheduled for June 6 at the Fairgrounds, is postponed, likely until September.

• Swap Till You Drop, originally planned for April 19, will be rescheduled.

• The Como Neighborhood Garage Sale, originally scheduled for the weekend of May 15, is postponed.

• The Historic Streetcar Station is closed to the public until further notice.

• The final three Sunday Series presentations – “Nature in Your Own Backyard,” “Old Media in a New Era,” and “In Search of Justice” – will be rescheduled later in 2020 if possible.

New apartments proposed for Bandana Square

A Saint Paul developer is proposing a four-story, 150-unit apartment building atop the existing parking ramp west of the Best Western hotel in Bandana Square. The market-rate apartments would be a combination of studios, alcove studios, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom units, none larger than 1,000 square feet, says Jim LaValle, principal for TJL Development LLC. Early designs show a 60-foot-tall, E-shaped building.

LaValle told District 10’s Land Use Committee that rents will be “competitive” with other apartment communities in Energy Park. The project would provide secure underground parking for tenants, and lease 150 public parking spaces back to the hotel. The parking arrangement means the project would need rezoning from B3 commercial to T3 traditional. A city rezoning hearing was scheduled for April 9.

Hmong College Prep expands

Hmong College Prep Academy expects to build a new middle school and outdoor playground beginning this July on land it owns southwest of Brewster and Pascal. A skyway over Brewster would connect the three-story addition to the existing school.

The K-12 charter school says current enrollment of 2,350 pupils is about 150 over capacity. The proposed project would expand capacity to 2,400 students. The new building will have 42 classrooms and a gymnasium. Related construction will eliminate some classrooms in the current buildings in order to expand the cafeteria, add more commons space, and expand administrative space.

The school expects to seek $22.5 million in tax-exempt conduit revenue bonds through Saint Paul’s Housing and Redevelopment Authority in May.

Metro Transit to cut 4 stops on Route 3A

This summer, Metro Transit will eliminate three stops in District 10 along the 3A Como route. Spokeswoman Karyssa Jackson says the changes are part of systemwide streamlining that eliminates low-use stops to increase speed and reliability for routes overall. The stops being eliminated in District 10:

• Como and Winston, which averages 4 riders a day

• Como and Arona, which averages 6 riders a day

• Como and Albert, which averages 3 riders a day

(Farther west, Metro Transit will eliminate the stop at Como and Fifield, which averages 10 riders a day.)

Jackson says the stops likely will disappear when Ramsey County reconstructs Como Ave. between Hamline and Raymond/Cleveland this summer. Notices with the last dates of service will be posted on buses and at the disappearing stops.

Speed limits are going down

Saint Paul and Minneapolis will reduce speed limits by the end of the year to 20 mph on most residential streets in both cities, and to 25 mph on most city-owned arterials. The current limit on those streets typically is 30 mph. The new policy does not affect speed limits on county and state roads.

More details on the District 10’s website: https://tinyurl.com/swfmhwc

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