We shuffled the agenda slightly because one of our speakers was also participating in the University District Alliance meeting at Van Cleve.
PRECINCT REPORT: Inspector Loining led off with his state of the precinct report which showed that while overall crime is down 9.2% from last year, sexual assault reports continue to rise, and are now up over 8%; this still may be an increase in the number of people reporting, not in the actual number of incidents. Burglaries are down over 9%. Last year saw 110 robbery reports, but only 101 on the books at the end of August, so that is down 8.18%. Last week alone saw 8 robberies, but it also saw 5 arrests. Among the arrests were two incidents in which citizens stopped a suspect and held him until officers could arrive, 1 in NE and 1 in SE. Those citizens will be nominated for citations. While citizens are not encouraged to put themselves in danger, officers appreciate all cooperation and this was just stunning.
The Police Academy will have 54 more officers on the street by the end of the year. With Chief Harteau’s support, the 2nd will get its share.
UMPD Chief Matt Clark attended this meeting also. Campus activities are just getting started and so far there is not much going on. As always, they’re watching for alcohol consumption by minors and loud parties. He urges that if you have any questions about student conduct, you contact the UMPD. Easy to remember 62-4cops 624-2677 or https://police.umn.edu/ (Look for the Compliments or Complaints button at the top.) For emergency dispatch it’s 911, and the nearest squad car will respond.
HOUSING INSPECTIONS: Our speakers were Mike Rumppe, who leads Housing Inspections, and Ted Van Winkle who is responsible for all of SE Mpls and part of NE, as well. Mike is in his 27th year in Inspections, and had previously worked in Fire Inspections. He has now had one year leading Housing. Ted has spent 9 years in Inspections, working in SE and part of NE Minneapolis.
Housing Inspections is a 65-person unit and is responsible for 33,000 rental properties in the city. This unit is responsible for residential properties SFD to three-plexes. For these buildings only the Housing Code Applies. The Mpls Fire Dept does inspections for buildings with 4 or more dwelling units.
They also do exterior inspections of owner-occupied dwellings, but do not inspect the interiors. For rental units, they are responsible for exterior AND interior. Rental units earn their way to one of three categories:
Tier 1) Good. 65% of the properties are rated “good” and are only reinspected every 6 or 7 years.
Tier 2) Middle – 25% of all properties are not quite “good” and need more attention. They are inspected every 3 or4 years
Tier 3) Not-so-good. 10% of all properties; these get annual inspections.
QUESTION: Are Tier 3 reinspections done on a cost-recovery basis? ANSWER: That’s being worked on.
QUESTION: We see inoperable cars on lots. Why can’t they get pulled out. ANSWER: We can’t always tow. 15 properties are currently being monitored. The police get some at the curb.
QUESTION about Life Safety issues: These always have short timelines for correction.
Ted mentioned that sometimes additional social services need to be brought in, especially if owners are no longer able to care for the property themselves.
One new restriction is coming up: In the 7-county area, there will be a restriction on how far away a property manager can live from the properties he cares for. This should help speed up repairs and abatement somewhat. That doesn’t me the landlord can’t live in Winona or Phoenix, but the person responsible for fixing the plumbing will have to be closer than that.
QUESTION: What are the rules about window well access: Answer: The rules apply to basement bedrooms. Someone in the bedroom must have access to the window from the inside. The step-up can be a bed adjacent to the window or a footstool–something like that. Once someone has exited the window, they must be able to get out of the window well (ladder?) AND must have access to a public walk way, a street, or an alley, not find they’re in a back yard with a locked privacy fence.
On probation: Osman Amin (to 06/15/17). Michael Zaccardi (to 10/20/17
Adjourn: 7:34
REMINDERS:
You can find notes and announcements from previous 2-PAC meetings on our homepage: https://courtwatch2pac.com/
You can find Second Precinct crime report summaries and maps at http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/police/statistics/index.htm
2nd Precinct Advisory Council 