Columbia Park N’hood Association reborn

A Northeast neighborhood association, essentially defunct for almost four years, was “re-launched” at a Saturday, Aug. 24 meeting at the Eastside Food Co-op. 

The revival of the Columbia Park Neighborhood Association (CPNA) came about through the efforts of Minneapolis’ Neighborhood and Community Relations (NCR) staff, members of the firm Socios, and more than 40 spirited Columbia Park residents who filled up the co-op’s community room.

NCR Neighborhood Programs Manager Steven Gallagher said CPNA had been an inactive neighborhood organization since late 2020 and that the board had failed to meet or perform tasks as required by both state law, its bylaws and the city’s funding requirements. 

Noting that NCR’s goal is to ensure a network of functioning neighborhoods, he added, “We took actions to revive the neighborhood organization after unsuccessfully reaching out to former members for assistance. We believe it is imperative for residents to have a functioning organization which represents them and works to make the area a better place to live, work and play.”

Columbia Park is an L-shaped neighborhood whose northern border with Columbia Heights is 37th Avenue NE. Columbia Park is separated to the south and west from the Holland neighborhood by 27th Avenue and from Marshall Terrace by St. Anthony Boulevard, University Avenue NE and 4th Street NE. 

The neighborhood is bordered on the east by Central Avenue, and on the west by the Mississippi River.

 Its name goes back to the year 1892, the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ first voyage to America. There are currently about 1,400 residents, and a median household income of $75,000. 

The meeting was moderated by Mario Vargas, a branch manager at Socios Consulting Inc., contracted by the city to perform outreach and engagement to ensure at least 25 residents (and voters) came to the meeting. The firm will also perform administrative tasks to ensure compliance with state and federal laws while ensuring the city’s funding policy, procedures and applications are up to date. 

The meeting began with the attendees identifying themselves and giving brief statements on why they were there. Some people had moved to the neighborhood in the last few years, and several families had lived there for decades (one septuagenarian said he’d lived in Columbia Park all his life). Virtually everyone expressed their fondness for the neighborhood, while noting some livability issues (“problem” houses, frequent sirens on Central Avenue, construction detours that led cars to drive down alleys, freight train noise and mailbox theft).

Columbia Park was the last geographic neighborhood in Minneapolis to not have a representative neighborhood organization. Minneapolis allocates $25,000 per year to the residents of Columbia Park; a functioning neighborhood organization is needed to manage these funds on behalf of the residents. 

In an email, Gallagher said, “The meeting room was packed with residents wanting to be involved and uplift the neighborhood and neighborhood organization. There was great enthusiasm in the room and personally, I am very excited to see the neighborhood progress with such people wanting to be involved.”

The meeting’s primary task was to elect board members to manage CPNA going forward. Ten attendees nominated themselves, and the community voted, as prescribed in their bylaws, to elect those members. The new board, as a whole, will select its officers by vote at their first meeting. A “poll” was created for the board to determine the date and time of its first official meeting. The date and time will be placed on the organization’s website. 

Gallagher noted that NCR will continue to assist the new board as it works toward ensuring the organization remains viable now and in the future. ”This organization is managed by the residents for the residents. It is a true grass-roots organization which Columbia Park can be proud of.”