Memo Neighborhood Advisory Board•
To: Hopkins City Council Members
Hopkins Neighborhood Advisory Board
From: Kersten Elverum
Date: Wednesday, August 30, 1995
Subject: Neighborhood Advisory Board (NAB)
The Council work session on September 12, 1995 will focus on reviewing the current
and future role of the Hopkins Neighborhood Advisory Board. The meeting will be held
in the Raspberry Room at City Hall beginning at 7:00 p.m. and all NAB representatives
are invited to attend.
The NAB has had several discussions in an attempt to redefine or clarify their role, but
have not come to a consensus regarding their direction. Attached is a letter from Mike
• Miller, Chair of the NAB, which describes the current status of the organization and his
desire for Council and staff involvement.
Background and Purpose of the NAB
The Hopkins Neighborhood Advisory Board was an idea which came from the Strategic
Plan for Economic Development. The Plan suggested that the City develop a
neighborhood outreach program and establish a Neighborhood Advisory Council made
up of representatives from every neighborhood association.
Shortly after adoption of the Strategic Plan, staff organized a meeting of neighborhood
and community representatives who would become the initial members of the NAB.
Bylaws were developed and the following mission statement was adopted:
'To develop stronger and more cohesive neighborhoods in Hopkins and to provide a
forum for communication and participation in the local governmental process in order to
positively influence the social, civic and business environment."
The NAB has been in existence for two and a half years, meeting an average 8 times
per year with an agenda that typically involves discussion of the major development
projects within the City, representatives concerns and occasionally focuses on specific
issues such as youth issues, garbage collection, and zoning, permits and other City
regulations.
• While NAB discussions have been interesting, NAB representatives have expressed
varying opinions regarding the usefulness of the information and the Board itself.
Other concerns have been raised including the expectation that the representatives
speak for their entire neighborhood, their lack of impact on decisions and their overall
purpose. Staff has had similar concerns.
Accomplishments
In its 2 1/2 years, the NAB has formally taken a position on the following issues:
o Advised City Council to deny the proposed cat control ordinance
o Voted against the development of a slip ramp off Hwy 169
o Voted to strongly support the concept of constructing a performing arts
facility in Hopkins
The representatives have become much more educated about City projects and issues,
as well as neighborhood organization skills and ideas. City staff has received feedback
on various topics and have become more aware of certain neighborhood issues.
Additionally, NAB representatives from "The Avenues ", assisted by the City,
coordinated a neighborhood meeting featuring the Mayor and Police Chief. The
meeting was a step towards organizing this large area of Hopkins. A meeting in the
• Interlachen neighborhood was also a direct result of involvement in the NAB. This
meeting resulted in the formation of two committees who have made some progress
addressing this neighborhood's concerns
The representatives have formed subcommittees of the NAB to work on specific issues
such as safety and youth issues, however, no specific actions have been undertaken
by these subcommittees.
Unfulfilled Expectations
The following is a summary of the major issues that been identified as relates to the
role and expectations of the NAB:
o Direct communication link between neighborhoods and City
When the NAB was first established, the expectation of many was that the
representatives would serve as a communication link between the neighborhoods and
the Council. The representatives would learn about major issues facing the City and
then go out into their neighborhoods, gathering the opinions of their neighbors. The
information collected would then be passed on to the Council to assist in their decision
making process.
• The majority of the representatives feel this is an unrealistic expectation. Because -
most of the neighborhoods are not organized, there is no structure in place for them to
• communicate with their neighbors. Even in the organized neighborhoods it has been
extremely difficult, if not impossible, to obtain timely feedback.
Some NAB representatives have indicated that although they feel they cannot serve as
a communication Zink to their neighborhood, they would be willing to serve as a focus
group on major issues. However, it should be noted that because they were not
randomly chosen to be a NAB representative they are not a statistical cross - sample of
the community.
o Neighborhood representation is questioned
Not only do some representatives question their ability to communicate with their
neighborhoods, residents on occasion have questioned the ability of their
representative to speak for them. As a result, the validity of the entire Board is
challenged.
Recommendations
o Representatives duties have not been clearly defined
Neighborhood representatives have been selected in a variety of ways, sometimes by
being an officer in their neighborhood association, but more often by being the only
person willing to serve on the NAB. The expectations associated with being a NAB
representative have never been identified and as a result the level of commitment and
• idea of what should be expected of them varies. Although members have made the
commitment to come to the monthly meetings, there has been limited interest in
organizing their neighborhoods. Although many appear frustrated that they should be
doing something more, there hasn't been agreement on what that something is.
o Utilization of human resources
With the absence of a Community Development Director, staffing of the NAB is an
issue. While the Housing Coordinator serves as the secretary to the organization,
preparing the agenda and correspondence, taking minutes and organizing meetings, a
staff member who is familiar with the activities of all City departments should be
available at each meeting to answer the multitude of questions that are asked by the
representatives.
It should be noted that even with a redesign of the NAB, staffing may continue to be an
issue. For example, encouraging more neighborhood meetings will most likely require
considerable involvement of City staff and Council. However, it is felt that this
approach would be a more effective way of communicating with the neighborhoods.
The following recommendations are a compilation of ideas of staff and NAB
representatives and attempt to build on what has been successful.
Role:
o Representatives will agree to coordinate a general neighborhood
meeting, at least once a year. Representatives will assist in the planning of the program
which likely would involve City staff and/or Council, selection of the meeting site and
the distribution of flyers. A budget would need to be developed to assist the
neighborhood groups with refreshments, printing, etc...
o Representatives may serve as a contact person from their
neighborhood and liaison between the City and the neighborhood regarding specific,
neighborhood issues for which the Council would like neighborhood feedback.
Representatives would not be asked to speak for their neighborhood, but perhaps
coordinate a neighborhood meeting or distribute written information.
o Representatives would agree to be involved, informed and available to
their neighbors.
o A job description will be prepared which will clearly describe what is and
is not expected of the representatives.
Communication:
o City will continue to update representatives through Nibbles, the City's
Board and Commission newsletter. Representatives would be encouraged to speak to
City staff and Council if additional information is needed on a topic.
o City will consider periodic surveys of Hopkins residents to determine
major issues, opinions and concerns, rather than relying on NAB representatives to
provide this information.
o City and representatives will continue to promote the use of Razzle as a
communication tool.
o Representatives will agree to make the City aware of neighborhood
issues when appropriate.
Structure:
o Annual or semi - annual meetings of all representatives to discuss
neighborhood organization techniques and experiences, the status of key development
projects within the City and to establish the schedule for neighborhood meetings
o There would be a less formal structure as representatives will not be
voting; however, some items such as the process for selecting representatives would
continue to be governed through the organization's bylaws.
•
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o There would not be a representative of the school district or the
business community. Representatives of multi - family housing would be paired with the
representative from the neighborhood in which the development is located.
Name:
o To reflect the new role of the group, the name could be changed to the
Neighborhood Contact Committee/Neighborhood Contact Representative.
Conclusion:
Although the Neighborhood Advisory Board has always been thought of as a good
idea, it is clear that it is not meeting the initial expectations. The goals of Council and
staff may have been unrealistic and ideas, such as providing a Zink between the school
district and business community, have not been fully realized. The City Council should
be commended for following through on this recommendation of the Strategic Plan for
Economic Development and the NAB representatives acknowledged for their hard
work, but perhaps it is time to refocus this initiative to best utilize our resources.
The recommendations outlined above change the role of the NAB from advisory to the
City Council, to strengthening neighborhood organizations. The focus is put on
neighborhood issues, rather than City -wide issues. Some may not agree with these
changes and through the discussion on September 12, 1995, other ideas may surface.
It is important, however, given the significant resources dedicated to this effort that we
determine how this Board can best serve the City of Hopkins.
Attachment: Letter from Mike Miller, Chair of NAB