January 19, 2021 Meeting Recap
Thank you to everyone who voted in the Special Election last week – it was a close race. Congratulations to our newly-elected board member, Nikki Lindberg!
The ANA also discussed potential changes to the Mini Grant program, the Green Team’s upcoming Let’s Talk About Plastic series and Reading Circle (see below!), and voted to add a committee participation requirement for board members.
The City of Mpls will host upcoming Transforming Community Safety meeting tonight (Tuesday, January 26). See below for info and how to participate:
Transforming Community Safety online meeting
6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26
Learn more about the City’s work to transform community safety and upcoming engagement opportunities. RSVP here to attend.
Learn More AND Limit Your Use of Plastic
There is still time to sign up to learn about the problems with plastic, why recycling alone isn’t the answer, and practical strategies to rethink your purchasing and drastically limit your use of this problematic material. Open to all even if you don’t live in Armatage. Register at https://armatage.org/plastics/:
- Through Jan 31: Get a link to screen the groundbreaking film, The Story of Plastic, and learn the real truth behind the global plastic pollution crisis from the comfort of your home.
- Jan 28 at 7:30pm: Attend our free virtual workshop on The Problem with Plastic & Practical Alternatives. Fabulous speakers from the City of Minneapolis, Eureka Recycling & local zero waste hub Tare Market will share an insider’s look at the challenges with plastic recycling in Minneapolis, where our plastics go for recycling, and LOTS of strategies to meaningfully reduce your use of plastic at home and move toward zero waste.
Winter Reading Circle
We’re excited for our first-ever Reading Circle, hosted by the Armatage Green Team! This will be a slothful book club: each month, neighbors will read one section of All We Can Save – Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis and come together as a group to discuss. Sign up for the first meeting on Monday 2/1 at 7:00pm on Zoom at armatage.org/reading-circle/
Need a book? Times are tight and we can help: email anacoordinator@armatage.org and we will bring you a copy.
Armatage Welcome Bags
Attention new neighbors! If you’ve recently moved into the neighborhood, we want to bring you a Welcome Bag! The groovy, reusable tote bag’s contents include useful information on the Armatage Neighborhood Association (ANA), elected representatives, governmental services, local businesses, and a couple of fun items to welcome you.
- Homeowners: be on the lookout for friendly ANA volunteers Ethan (pictured) or Kevin with a Welcome Bag with your name on it! They’ll swing by to do a masked, distanced drop-off.
- Renters: if you are a renter who moved in during the past year or if you own a rental property in the neighborhood and have new tenants, please reach out to us at anacoordinator@armatage.org and let us know where we can drop off a Welcome Bag!
Block Leader Contact Info
We’re gathering block leader contact information for every block in Armatage and need your help! Currently, block leader information cannot be shared or accessed by the neighborhood. If you are a block leader, please send your name, address, email address, phone, and the block(s) that you represent to me at anacoordinator@armatage.org
Interested in learning more about block and apartment clubs and how they work? Visit http://bit.ly/blockclubs
Keep Calm and Use Less Salt
When snow and ice melt, the road salt must go somewhere. When over applied, the excess salt flows directly into ditches and storm drains and then into lakes, streams, wetlands, and groundwater. Salt does not breakdown or degrade over time and instead will persist, permanently polluting our waterways.
Less is more when it comes to applying salt because at high concentrations, chloride can harm the fish and plant life in our waters and alter the taste of drinking water. In fact, the salt sitting on the pavement is no longer helping us, it’s hurting us and polluting our waters. We’ve all seen it and now it’s time to address the problem head on.
More salting does not mean more melting. Remember these 4 steps during our next storm:
- Shovel and scrape before snow compacts,
- Select the correct de-icer,
- Scatter salt only where critical, and
- Sweep up and reuse leftover salt.
Salt is widely used and is an important public safety tool in winter conditions. The goal is not to compromise public safety, but instead advocate how we can wisely use salt to provide safe conditions and be mindful of the environment. If you’re interested in learning more or have any questions, feel free to reach out to Lianna at lianna.goldstein@minneapolismn.gov