Midtown Phillips News

Midtown Phillips News  //  This is a new project. Its starting primarily as an aggregator, collecting lots of news from lots of sources, specific to Midtown Phillips and surrounding areas. Who knows where we'll go from there!

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Nov 10 / 8:38am

Save the Phillips Pool 11/9 Park Board Meeting

Remember the Save the Pool Campaign from last year? It is still going strong. 


Dear Friends,

Minneapolis Swims is presenting to the MPRB on Wednesday November 9th at 5 pm to ask for an extension to our fundraising contract. We are asking past and present residents of the Phillips neighborhood to come to this meeting
to show their support for the Phillips swimming pool. We are first on the agenda.

The MPRB is located next to Broadway Pizza on West River Road.

2117 West River Road
Minneapolis MN 55411

Please call me if you have any questions or need a ride

612-219-4058
Marie Tinnes

Filed under  //  MPRB   pool  
 
Oct 14 / 10:40am

Survey for the Phillips Community Center Pool

Hello Everyone,

As many of you know, in 2008 the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board
(MPRB) re-took possession of the Phillips Community Center Pool and
Gym building located on 24th Street in Minneapolis, in the Ventura
Village neighborhood. This building has a 6-lane indoor swimming pool
that is currently closed and in need of rehabilitation. The City of
Minneapolis allocated $1.5 million to repair the roof, boiler system,
and ventilation system of this building, and to fill the swimming pool
with concrete. The neighborhoods united and we were successful in
stopping the destruction of the pool.

We are currently conducting a feasibility study to determine how the
pool can be restored. Part of the process is to establish a compelling
reason to save it based on a strong community demand for use.
Minneapolis Swims has created an online survey form to collect data to
help fill the usage grids for the pool.  This information is needed as
part of the feasibility study to document the neighborhood interest in
the pool.  We need to be able to demonstrate to the MPRB that there is
sufficient interest in the pool to justify the costs necessary to
renovate and operate it.  This is very important information.  Please
don't be put off by the registration process.  It only takes a couple
minutes to fill out the form.

If you, your family, or your organization, are interested in using
this pool, please go to the Minneapolis Swims website and fill out
this form.  And spread the word.  The more people who fill out this
form, the better we will be able to justify the cost of restoring the
pool, plus we will have more information to create a schedule that
will best meet the needs of the most people.  The survey button is on
the far right side of the main menu.  Click on "I need to register" at
the bottom of the login page.

http://www.mplsswims.org

Thank you!  And spread the word!  The more, the better.

Sincerely,


Hannah Lieder
Director, Minneapolis Swims

Filed under  //  MPRB   pool  
 
Apr 19 / 8:03am

TONIGHT - Park Board Hosting Community Forum for the Phillips Community Center

Scott Vreeland and the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board are hosting a community forum TONIGHT - Monday April 19 to discuss the future of the Phillips Community Center building. The 6:30pm meeting is being hosted at Stewart Park (2700 12th Ave S).  The public is welcome to attend this forum to provide feedback.

Community organizers are hoping to use this forum to showcase the community's desire to keep the Phillips Pool open and active. After the April 7 decision to postpone the destruction of the pool, organizers were given a reprieve and time to find a solution that the Park Board would accept. The MPRB is expected to approve a formal RFP process to direct the future of the building at their April 21 meeting.

Here is what the MPRB posted on their website:

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) has temporarily closed the Phillips Community Center (PCC), 2323 11th Ave. for re-roofing, HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) repairs and building upgrades. Following inspections and assessments, the heating, cooling, electrical systems and swimming pool in the building were determined unusable or non-functional.

In response to a community request for additional dialogue on the publicly awarded bid and construction contract currently underway at the PCC, the MPRB Commissioners voted to continue on schedule with the majority of the renovation improvements on April 7, 2010, but delay the swimming pool component of the contract. This meeting is intended to provide an update on the renovation and to share ideas on adaptive reuses of the facility that are operationally sustainable.

Filed under  //  MPRB   pool  
 
Mar 24 / 1:29pm

A Response to the Park Board on Phillips Pool Destruction

Crystal Trutnau, Executive Director of the Phillips West Neighborhood Organization responded to Annie Young's comments about the destruction of the Phillips Community Center's pool.  She brings up some very valid points.  Commissioner-at-large Young did respond by saying she'll be unavailable until April 1.  

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Phillips West Neighborhood Org <pwno2005@yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, Mar 24, 2010 at 10:49 AM

Hey all,
 
I don't normally reply to these group emails but I found issue with a lot of the things stated.  Here is my response:
 
1.  No comment. [this was the statement about the Boys & Girls Club running the facility]
2.  ANNIE:  Suggesting waiting to the April 7th Board Meeting and to stop the contractor who is ready to work on April 1st- That will cost many dollars and get us nowhere.  If we kept the pool, a whole different type of roofing materials and a different type of HVAC would be needed rather then the one we are installing now.  My response:  My understanding is that the contractor hired is an independent contractor.  My experience as a contractor and with contractors is that the agreement probably states that either party can end the contract at any time.  I am guessing waiting until after April 7th for the contractor to start or to renegotiate the contract won't cost "many dollars," as stated by Ms. Young.  If the contractor is set to get an advance on the project oh well it shouldn't be a significant amount as no work has been done yet. 
 
Annie:  If it is the desire of the neighborhood to have a pool it might be best to build an annex south of the building that would house the pool and could be built with the right equipment and operating systems to have a pool.  This could even include a solar thermal for heating the water.  My response:  Who is going to pay for this?  This seems kind of ridiculous seeing there is already an existing pool that would be cheaper to repair rather than building a brand new pool?  My guess is that building a new pool would cost more than repairing the current pool and operating it for 10 years. 
 
Annie:  As far as concerns about public input and process for this building it should be noted that it was a stabilization and rehab project for an existing building.  This does not require using our CAC process.  My response:   Who cares about the CAC process?  This is a huge project and there has been significant neighborhood interest around this.  Why not just include the neighborhood out of the good will of elected officials who depend on these voters? 
 
Annie:  And last, but not least, is where would we get the money, both to do a different type of rehab and to operate and maintain a pool system in the building?  We are cutting $3.4 million from our budget beginning in June and heaven only knows how much we will have to cut in 2011, but it won't be pretty.  It is so ugly as a matter of fact that the Board will be considering closing some facilities and rearranging programming as many of our other 49 states.  We can no longer maintain the community center system we have.  This may include selling some buildings- we keep this land underneath but have others purchase buildings for other uses.  Could this happen at the PCC- yes it is possible?  My response:  we understand the funding issues.  The pool doesn't need to be repaired and functional right this second but filling it in and possibly building a new pool as suggested is a terrible idea.  Why not just fix the building to accommodate the future repair of the pool.  That way if funds become available the pool can be fixed? 
 
Annie:  I also feel Phillips should consider itself LUCKY.  It will be finishing construction and opening a new facility in East Phillips.   It has gotten funds for improvements at Stewart Park and we still hold out to rebuild and program Peavy Park.  This is more than any other part of the City- especially the Northside that has even more needs than Phillips because it has very little to start in comparison.  My response:  The facilities in question with the exception of East Phillips Community Center (which I am not talking about, I am specifically talking about PCC) already exist in Phillips we aren't asking for a brand new park like the one the Park Board is building off 4th Ave. in the North Loop Neighborhood.  We are asking for money and programming to be reinvested in the Phillips Neighborhood where our parks have seen a disproportion of funding and programming in comparison to other City Parks for years.  I don't consider us lucky I consider us under served and the only people suffering are the kids in our neighborhood.  If you want to talk census info. Phillips has one of the highest percentiles of youth in the entire City.  Kind of makes sense to serve those youth?  Guess that’s just me.
    

Crystal Trutnau, Executive Director
Phillips West Neighborhood Organization
Filed under  //  MPRB   pool  
 
Mar 24 / 8:57am

Park Board Response about Phillips Pool Closure

As slated today, the Park Board is planning to fill in with cement the pool within the Phillips Community Center on April 1.  As noted below by Annie the community has had no real input about this process.

Annie Young is a commissioner-at-large.   Scott Vreeland is the Parks Board Commissioner over the Phillips Community Center and he has been virtually silent about this issue.  Several other commissioners have responded to comments and feedback, but not Scott. He can be contacted at 612-721-7892 svreeland@minneapolisparks.org

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Annie Young <anniey@visi.com>
Date: Tue, Mar 23, 2010 at 11:41 PM
Subject: RE: Save the Phillips Pool

Thank you all for your comments and concerns regarding the use of the Phillips Community Center (also known as the Phillips Pool and Gym).

 

The problems at PCC are complex. For starters...

1. The Boys and Girls Club operated the pool not the MPRB.

The MPRB has never operated the indoor pool.  The pool was operated by the Boys and Girls Club when they occupied this site.  If a pool is in operation it requires a different approach to the HVAC equipment and roofing materials that are designed and ready to be installed.  The HVAC equipment that was
designed, bid, and will be installed in the building did not take into account an indoor pool operational in the facility.

2.  If we were going to operate the pool, here is what it would take:
The capital expense, depending upon the number and type of additional features would range from $600k to over $1.5 million. In addition, there would need to be additional HVAC work done, and these cost estimates, do not include those capital and operational costs.  The estimated annual operational expense if restored to the current configuration would be $125k to $140k with annual lifeguards and other staffing, depending upon hours and use being, and additional $30k and up.

To top things off it is not Annie's fabulous indoor playground idea.  It is an idea proposed by planning staff for the reuse of that building. There has not been a final determination of new uses for the building but right now to just get the operating systems up to par.

People in the neighborhood have been informed of these plans and have known that we would be getting rid of the pool. However, obviously not the "right" folks in the neighborhood heard or listened to our rehab plans.

It has now been suggested that we wait until a Board meeting (April 7th) and stop the contractor who is ready to do the work on April 1st.  That will cost us many dollars and would get us really nowhere. If we kept the pool, a whole different type of roofing materials and a different type of HVAC would be needed rather than the one we are installing now.

If it is the desire of the neighborhood to have a pool it might be best to build an annex south of the building that would house the pool and could be built with the right equipment and operating systems to have a pool.  This could even include solar thermal for heating the water.

As far as any concerns about public input and process for this building it should be noted that it was a stabilization and rehab project for an existing building. This does not require using our CAC process.

And last, but not least, is where would we get the money, both to do a different type of rehab and to operate and maintain a pool system in the building?  We are cutting $3.4 million from our budget beginning in June and heaven only knows how much we will have to cut in 2011, but it won't be
pretty.  It is so ugly as a matter of fact that the Board will be considering closing some facilities and rearranging programming at many of our other 49 sites.  We can no longer maintain the community center system we have. This may include selling some buildings - we would keep the land underneath but have others purchase buildings for other uses. Could this happen at PCC - yes, it is possible?

I also feel Phillips should consider itself LUCKY.  It will be finishing construction and opening a new facility in East Phillips.  It has gotten funds for improvements at Stewart Park and we still hold out to rebuild and program Peavey Park.  This is more than any other part of the City - especially the Northside that has even more needs than Phillips because it has very little to start with in comparison.

I am sure this message will not make you all happy but at this point the MPRB will be moving forward with its current plans. We cannot afford to pay the contractor delay fees on our contract with them.  The materials are here and ready to go. Even if there was a reconsideration of the idea about cementing in the pool , it wouldn't be for the purpose of the MPRB operating it as a public pool.

Thank you for your input and suggestions.
Annie Young - not your only option for citywide Commissioner who might also be able to help support your District Commissioner as this issue moves forward.

Filed under  //  MPRB   pool