mationwith residents. Alongwith the monthly SEAngle, the Comotion is a reliable and trustedsource of community news and special events inthe Como neighborhood

The Como lldbrfs e-newsletterwas started in theSpring of 2000 to allow us to share last-minuteopportunities, news, and urgent crime informationwith neighbors. Over 100 Tidbits have been sentover the years and our recipient list nowtotals 240members, made-up mostly of neighbors, localbusinesses, elected officials, nearby neighborhoodgroups, and University of Minnesota contacls.

Ourwebsite, www.secomo.org, was unveiled inFebruary of 2000 and is updated regularly by staff.The web has become a very effective way for us toshare large amounts of information and graphicswith residents (the Environmental Inventory housingloan information and applications, etc.) On May25th of 2005, www.secomo.org received '1,738"hits". One day later, on the 26th of May, over1 9,1 00 kilobytes of data were accessed through

Detailed graph depicting he usage numbers for www.secomo.orgfor trrc nonth of May, 2005.

the website. These usage numbers, also detailedin the graph beloW demonstrate the usefulness andsignificance of the SEClAwebsite.

Staff, Board & Office

NRP$Speil=$312,707# of staff= 2 full time stzff and 2 part time staffg sf msetings foeld at SECIA's office = over 95meetings were held in 2004

SECIA hired itsfi rst full-time neighborhood coordi-nator in 1998, added a part-time resource centercoordinator in 1999, a parttime community gar-dener in 2000, and a full{ime environmental coor-dinator in 2001.

Simultaneously, SEClAstarted renting office spacein 1998, expanded to space that was large enoughto accommodate a resource center and meetingspace in 1999, and moved to a higher-traffic andmorevisible location in2OO4. SEC|Ahas ben-efited greatly from a high degree of staff stabilitywith tenures ranging from four to six years in length.

SECIAs work has also been significantly en-hanced by the long-standing commitment made byseveral of its board members. OurlTmemberboard cunently includes four past presidents. Wealso have strong committee ties on our board, withnine of our members serving on both the board andat least

The new SEClAofices, locatd at 837 15th Ave SE

2 I

share the results of their research into Como'shistory and to devise ways to communicate thatinformation. A primary goal is to write and publisha book on the neighborhood's past (working title:'Along the Como Road:AHistory of the ComoNeighborhood in Minneapolis") in time to celebratethe 125s anniversary of Como's founding, in2OO7 .

In the meantime, our efforts at outreach haveincluded five tours of historic struc{ures in Como, aset of 8 postcards featuring historical scenes andpersonalities from Como , a visually descriptivedisplay of residential architecture in Como thatcontains examples of every style built in Minneapo-lis since the 1870's. and a 1S-minute iMovie on thehistory of SE Como.

Gommunity Gollaborations

NRP$Spenf=$38,269l-wtaged dollars = $30,000+Organiztions Supported= 5Restorative Justice Yolunteers = 25Hours contributed by RJ volunteers = 200+

SEC|Ahas a long historyof workingwith othercommunities and organizations which has contritsuted to the vitality of the SE Minneapolis area.Several eisting organizations were crucial to thatvitality and SECIA - based on community recom-mendations - contributed NRP dollars to ensuringthe continued operation of these services. The listincludes $20,@0 donated to the SE Seniors: ALiving at Home/Block Nurse Program, over $5,400donated to the Toy Lending Library located in theMarry-Holmes neighborhood, and $2,5@ contrib-uted to the SE Wayto Grovv.

A strategy was incorporated to enhance the calen-dar in the SoutheastAngle by putting it onJine in anaeressible form. TheAngle has been slow to usethe funds, and at this point only $1 ,000 has beenbilled.

one committee. The board also cunently hasbusiness representation (2), landlord representa-tion (2), and student representation (2). The SEGIABoard meets monthly (on the first Tuesday). Meet-ings are open to the public, and anyone who lives,owns property or does business in SoutheastComo is eligible to run for election to the Board atthe annual SEClATown Meeting.

Permanent student seats were added to the boardin Fall of 2@3, oneto befilled by an undergradu-ate appointed by the University of Minnesota'sStudentAssociation (MSA) and one to be filled bya student appointed by the University ofMinnesota's Graduate and Professional StudentAssociation (GAPSA). Students are a traditionallyunder-served population in the community, butthrough SECIAS work the students of Como arefinally having their voices heard.

Gomo History Group

NRP$Spent=$1,036Total Cost = $2,360Volunteer hours = 1809

Sfinarf Shoe Shqp, 22rd Ave SE aN C,orno, drca 1928,cautesy Slinart Family Cdlection.

The Resource Center sedion of SECIAs Phase IAdion Plan included an allocation of $4,000 forHistory lnformation, along with some staff supportfrom the Resource Center Coordinator. ln 1999-2000, and again from 2003 to the present, a smallgroup of four orfive volunteers met monthly to

22

ln addition to continuing existing services we haveworked to develop nal relationships with otherpartners in an aftempt to address communityconcems with special attention given to livabilityissues. Initially, an original strategy of the Phase IPlan included funding for Cops on Bikes Program.The community felt that a stronger, more tangiblepolice presence in the neighborhood vrould be amajor asset to the Como community. After furtherexamination, the resources for this project wereinsufficient to make a major difference in the man-ner in which the Como neighborhood was pa-trolled. Inslead the money has been reallocated topurchase'buy backs from the Minneapolis PoliceDepartment (MPD). This strategy pays for over-time units trom MPD to patrol designated areas.

ln October of 20O1 Southeast Como received a$5,000 grant from Minnesota Join Together (MJT)to specifically address one area of livability con-

Rqtoralive Jusfie volunteers wuk b rqdr flrc ham tlpy\recausd by pafuaing with comnunily nanbers at tlr- 200dCono Cha*Up

aspect of this collaboration has been the sharing ofcosts of the "buy bacK patrols with Marcy-Holmesthus stretching the dollars for both communities.Another positive that has evolved from this collabo-ration has been our deepening working relation-shipwith the University ofMinnesota'

?,i;"i[Ti,:"yy,:3",But perhaps the most signifi- 383'Teferrals on

cani aspecf has been our ability "r'!!fJ'f,i"'!ii",,""to build a further partnership prosranbased upon the PartyTaskForce collaboration. Because of our work-ing relationship with Marcy-Holmes and theUniversity of Minnesotia we were invited as agroup to join the Gentral City NeighborhoodPartnership's Restorative Justice Program whichwe did in July of 2004. The three communities areworking as one large neighborhood with commu-nity members and University staff participating incommunity conferences with offenders ftom any ofthe three separate communities.

This program has been so successful that casesfrom the Southeast communities represent themajority of the Restorative Justice's caseload atthis time to the pointwhere we are stretching theirresources. This success has been due in largepart to the willingness of the University Police andCity Attomey's ofiice to work on and pilot an alter-native method of diversion to the RestorativeJustice Program. By by-passing lhe traditionalmethod the 'refenal on citation' process hassaved the City of Minneapolis and the HennepinCounty Court System both money and stafftime.

cemsinthecommunity, namerynoisecomptaints, ff$ru""T;:[ff,ffii*"rf"H?H::ffi"Jfunderage consumption and other alcohol related idea! into the community. This potential can not beviolations. One strategy in ihis grant was to in- over-emphasized and witt require the continuedcrease collaboration with other neiQhborhoods and commitment of staff iime. local resources andagencieswhich has resulted_in the formation of the community volunteers. However, as we haveParty Task Force. This taskforce is a collaboration already proven, these partnerships can provideof Como, Marcy-Holmes, the.University_of.Minne- additional resources to our community, providesota Community Relations, University Police, cost savings to the City and even effect wholeMinneapolis Police and other partners concerned system chinges that #ect the health of an entirewith the issue of underage drinking. One practiol

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that must be monitored and reduced. Budget cutsto public safety and inspections programs willbecome a larger issue for not only SoutheastComo butfor alltle neighborhoods in SoutheastMinneapolis. The positive relationship that SECIAhas formed with the University of Minnesota mustbe built upon to ensure that both partners continueto fu]fi|| their missions. Nelv revenue streams mustbe located to oontinue the work of SECIA and tomaintiain the level of service to Southeast Comoresidents provided by the SECIA office and itsstafi-

The challenges facing Southeast Como andSECIA rernain numerous, but the past nine yearshave proven that the neighbofiood is resourcefuland capable of meeting these challenges head-on.SECII(s experiencewith thefirst phaseof NRPhas certainly been positive. The organization hasleamed invaluable lessons and is prepared tomove fonvard into NRP Phase ll with a renewedsense of optimism and the continued purpose ofmaking the Southeast Como neighborhood thediscovered treasure of Minneapolis.

Gonclusion

The past nine years has seen a great deal ofchange in the Southeast Conp neighborhood.Neighborhood pride has been restored in theamenities of the area, especially the renovated \IanCleve Park and the conversion of Tuttle School intoa K€ program. Residents have been engaged inraising theirvoices in unison to make positiveimpacfs regading air pollution and public safety-Community gardens continue to be created andimproved upon year after year, serving to bridge thedifferences between neighbors. The residents ofSoutheast Como are more informed on the pro-grams available through the cig and on upcomingevents through the SEClAwebsite, Tidbits andComotion. Community gatherings, such as theComo Cookout, the Como Garage Sales and ComoClean-Up, continue to bring residents together tocelebrate Southeast Como and to leam more abouttheirneighbors.

The NRP Phase I initiatives undertaken by SECIAhave not eliminated the issues that still face South-east Como. Maintaining and imprwingthe @mmu-nity housing stock remains a major issue that SECIAmust focus on, including promoting owner occu-pancy and long term residential investments. Theindustrial areas sunounding our neighborhoodcontinue to be sources of air, water and soil pollution

Sarfieasl Como Neighbtd Gabway Sign.

24

Southeast Gomo

O HomeowneE who pa icipaEd in |tle Home lnspection proglam.

Home lmprovement Program Activity

I SF Revolving Loans 1 9 $ 139.586.00r Rental Revolving Loans 3 s 23.662.00I Rental Matchins Defen€d '11 $ ,18.089.00

r Matchinq Defen€d Loans 40 $ 157.994.00I Deferred Loans 63 $ 286.979.00I Value Added Deferred Loans 35 $ 138.885.00r MHFA Discount Loans 29 S 15.rt68.15

Total 200 t 810,663.15

MHFA Gommunity Fix-up 56 $ 560.131.85MHFA Fix-up 29 $ 247.745.00MHFA Home Enerqv 1 $ 4.175.00MHFA Deferred Loans 2 $ 29.995.00Rental Enerqv 2 $ 18,399.00

r Private Bank Minnesota 2 $ 13.718.00Total 92 3 874.163.85

Grand Total 292 3 2.601.519.00

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