The meeting was called to order at 6:10 PM, 24 in attendance.
Introductions. June minutes approved. Treasurer’s report: $1058.84, accepted.
On July 5, Chief Harteau announced that Inspector Waite will move to the 5th Precinct, and the current Inspector of the 5th will be moving to the Second Precinct. Inspector Kathy Waite’s last day will be the 23rd and Inspector Todd Loining’s first day in the Second is the 24th of July.
It will be hard to see Inspector Waite leave the Second Precinct. Several people related good memories of Kathy’s hard work, efficiency, and thoughtfulness to share with us. Many of us have good memories of our own.
Fortunately, our new Inspector, Todd Loining, is ready and eager to return to the Second. He was here as an officer early in his career and already knows some of the byways and throughways east of the river. As he reconnects with us, Inspector Loining will be focusing on getting officers in the right spots before crime happens. He expects officers to get out of the squad cars and engage with community members.
SPEAKER: Our speaker this month was Clara Schmit-Gonzalez, who leads the office of Code Compliance and Traffic Control. This office is part of Regulatory Services along with Housing Inspections, Fire Inspections, and Animal Care & Control.
This department used to be called Traffic Control but their responsibilities have expanded to include livability and nuisance control issues. While they are responsible for ticketing non-compliant parked cars, they also are responsible for traffic control at intersections during rush hours and before and after events. During emergencies, they assist Police, Fire and other first responders. They are also responsible to check code compliance of commercial dumpsters and snow removal procedures.
The staff comprises 32 compliance and traffic control specialists, 2 lead compliance and traffic control specialists, and 6 field supervisors. The office works 18 hours/day, 7 days a week plus emergency response work.
Ms Schmit-Gonzalez first walked us through a pamphlet, “Know where you can park”, a three-fold brochure which lists the most common violations and a picture of one of those parking posts with multiple “DO NOT” rules. You can find the brochure here:
Why are some rules in red? How many days do you have to renew your car tags? Dropping a trailer on the street, legal or not? How close can you park to a hydrant, crosswalk, or stop sign whether it’s marked or not? There’s plenty more in there.
All city statistics are kept online, and are public records. Go to http://www.minneapolismn.gov/311/online/311_traffic and in the left side column, click on “Performance Reports”. The office issues about 220,000 tickets overall/year and responds to more than 16,000 311 service requests. 311 service requests have increased more than 65% since 2010. Ms Schmit-Gonzalez pulled out Second precinct statistics.
311 Complaint summary in the 2nd Pct, by neighborhood: total = 1,400. Top four: Marcy-Holmes – 248; Prospect Park – 126; Como – 119; Mid-City Industrial – 83.
Of these, there were 536 reports of abandoned vehicles and 857 parking violations.
Ticket Summary in the Second Precinct: Total = 19,828. Top four: Marcy-Holmes – 9,382 (47.3%); Prospect Park – 2,175 (11%); Nicollet Island-East Bank – 1,762 (8.9%); Como – 802 (4%).
Tickets by type: of the 19,828 tickets issued, 7,010 were for parking overtime; 3,650 were parking in a NO Parking Zone; 2,856 were registration required.
Question: 311 works fewer hours than Traffic Control. What happens to a call when 311 is closed? Answer: Officers on duty pick up your report while they are in the field, if it is entered electronically with the app or the self-service process. This includes complaints made on the 311 website.
Question: Who gets a handicap parking permit? Answer: Any significant mobility limitation qualifies you for that permit. Ask your doctor for it before you leave the office. Some are temporary and others have no end date.
State of the Precinct: Inspector Waite reported that the rate of offenses is down even though robberies were up by 5. As previously reported: the most prevalent crimes in the Second are burglaries and theft from auto. The Greenline is still bringing them in to SE Mpls.
Second Precinct Court Watch Summary:
Resolved: Osman Amin sentenced to 90 days in the workhouse, 75 days stayed, probation to 6/15/17. Anthony Bilges in the workhouse for 20 days, release 7/22/16. Daniel Heacock will have mental health re-test in August. Bryan Holmes was sentenced to 90 days in workhouse 69 days stayed, probation to 3/1/17. Albert Moen sentence: 90 days workhouse, 80 days stayed, probation to 5/9/17. James Zaccarki, Commit to St. Cloud 17 months, stay for three years, probation until 10/23/16, local confinement, 90 days workhouse, 30 days credit. Michael Zaccardi, commit to St. Cloud 18 months, stayed for 3 years; 102 days at the workhouse, credit 102 days, probation until 10/20/17local if rec
In custody: Jarid Jovanovich, Dae Nisell, Ryan Pilarski, Jason Tucker,
Bench warrant: Curtis Laroque, Michael Weston-Rose,
Nothing happening: Cody Corbin, Jerome Darkow, Johnny Hall.
Removed : Jesse Alan Houge,James Jemison.
Added :Kevin Foster, Assault 5 on 6/15 at Sentyrz Market, and Assault 5 on 6/22 (threatened to kill a stranger near 650 Spring St. NE)
Added: Ashley Sage, 2 thefts and 1 felony drug case, both hearings pending. 3 other reports in the last 12 months.
Old business: – none
New Business: New Brochure for Courtwatch specific for the Second Precint. Separate announcement coming.
Emilie Quast2-PAC Board member
2nd Precinct Advisory Council 