By Cam Gordon
What’s next for community safety in the 3rd Precinct? Over 70 people gathered at the Lake Nokomis Community Center on May 23, 2024 to hear about two new safety centers planned for south Minneapolis.
Over the past three months, city staff have conducted meetings throughout the southside to help design the community safety center at 2633 Minnehaha Ave. that will replace the building at E. Lake and Minnehaha that burned following George Floyd’s murder. A smaller safety center on Lake St. will open by the end of summer.
According to Director of Community Safety Design and Implementation Amanda Harrington, the city is currently negotiating a lease for a storefront space, and are not sharing the proposed location at this time. The smaller facility will cost $500,000 and will be open until the larger site opens at 2633 Minnehaha.
The 3rd precinct area includes most of south Minneapolis east of I-35W and west of the Mississippi River.
“The community safety system is really a network of community and government working together to help address crime and safety and those underlying issues,” said Harrington. “And that network has to address three buckets of work – services that relate to prevention, response and restoration.”
The discussion on May 23 focused on services the city may provide in addition to traditional police station functions. It was hosted by the Nokomis East Neighborhood Association (NENA) and Standish Ericsson Neighborhood Association (SENA). Ward 12 Council Member Aurin Chowdhury and Ward 11 Council Member Emily Koski attended.
A meeting on May 20 was held for residents of Hale, Page and Diamond Lake neighborhoods; and one is coming up for residents of the Field, Regina and Northrop neighborhoods on June 19.
So far, some services have been mentioned more than others and attendees were asked to identify priorities. These included services related to addiction, housing, mental health, economic support, education, food security, harm reduction, mentoring and support for youth.
Harrington pointed out that the community-oriented public space will have a “welcoming entrance” that will be staffed by 311 city employees. Other possible elements include art, a memorial, charging stations, quiet resting areas, office space for neighborhood contractors, homework hub, child care for people getting services, medical services, technology access, gun buy-backs, community meeting space, legal services, and tool/toy lending libraries.
The information gathered at the meetings, according to Harrington, will help develop the next set of recommendations about what services could be in both the community safety centers. There will be additional opportunities for input this fall on the 2633 Minnehaha site.
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