District 12

Homelessness seminar

The District 12 Equity Committee and the St. Anthony Park Community Foundation hosted a Homelessness and Housing Insecurity seminar in late October. This virtual event included a panel discussion on the growing issues of homelessness and housing insecurity and how to better assist fellow citizens in times of need.

John Slade, of the Metropolitan Interfaith Council on Affordable Housing, moderated the panel, which included St. Paul Council member Mitra Jalali. The full seminar can be viewed online at www.sapcc.org/housinginsecurityseminar. SAPCC is excited to continue this and other vital topics in our community.

Annual Meeting

District 12 will hold its annual meeting via Zoom at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 9. Russ Stark, chief resilience officer for the city of St. Paul, will be a featured speaker, discussing the city’s progress of the Climate Action and Resilience plan.

Prior to Stark’s presentation, the community council will welcome newly elected District 12 board members and hear various committee reports on their accomplishments over the past year. For the agenda and meeting link, please visit www.sapcc.org/annualmeeting.

Rethinking I-94

The District 12 Transportation Committee was one of 28 Twin Cities groups that sent letters to the Minnesota Department of Transportation regarding the Rethinking I-94 project.

The letter calls on MnDOT to expand the project’s purpose and need statement and goals to prioritize the needs of local communities and improve outcomes in public health, transportation access of all cars and climate emissions.

To read the letter, see more information about the Rethinking I-94 project, and to send feedback to MnDot, visit ourstreetsmpls.org/rethinking_I94.

Waste not, want not

Michael Russelle, of the District 12 Environment Committee, has written the following message about the need for recycling:

“Waste not, want not. This old saying has current relevance. Still, each American generates an average of about 2,000 pounds of waste every year. That’s a ton of waste!

Although we’re pretty good at recycling, we could reduce the amount of trash by nearly half simply by using up, reusing or repurposing items we’d otherwise toss, recycling everything that can be (paper, certain plastics, most glass, and metals) and upcycling organic materials to compost.

Using up applies well to food. Purchase the right amount, check the fridge before making the menu and be creative (and timely!) with leftovers. Collect your organics in compostable bags and drop them off at any of several nearby sites.

Develop habits of separating recyclables and organics from trash. Curbside and multifamily recycling pickup is convenient. Just put all the recyclables in the bin or dumpster. No more separating paper from glass, and all that. Remember: No black plastic and no plastic bags in recycling—they really cause problems.

Watch for more ideas from the Environment Committee in the District 12 newsletter and on the SAP listserv. Contact info@sapcc.org for how you can be added to these information sources.”

SAPCC December meetings

St. Anthony Park Community Council committees discuss a variety of issues at their monthly meetings. Visit the council’s website at sapcc.org to learn more.

• Land Use Committee: 7 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 2

• Board Meeting: 7 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 9

• Environment Committee: 7 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 22

• Equity Committee: 5:30 p.m., Monday, Dec. 27

• Transportation Committee: 7 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 28

• Land Use Committee: 7 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 6

All meetings are hosted via Zoom. Meeting times are subject to change. If you want to attend a meeting or have questions about joining a committee, please email Kathryn at kathryn@sapcc.org for the link

Submitted by Jessica Willman, District 12 community organizer.