Merger Questions

Along with the board of directors from both Nicollet Island-East Bank Neighborhood Association (NIEBNA) and the Southeast Como Improvement Association (SECIA), the Marcy-Holmes Neighborhood Association board approved a merger of the three organizations in August 2024. This affirmative vote was based on the work carried out by a task force of representatives from each organization, through conversations with each association's respective community, and feedback from other neighborhood organizations and non-profits. You can read more about this project at: www.marcy-holmes.org/merger.

MHNA will be hosting a Community Discussion of this board-approved merger on Tuesday, October 1 at First Congregational Church. This meeting will be held in-person, and online, starting at 6:30 pm. At the end of the meeting, electronic ballots for Marcy-Holmes community voting will be distributed by email. You can request a ballot here; you will receive it on October 1st. 
 
  • Voters will have 72 hours to complete their online ballot (the MHNA voting period ends at 8 pm on Friday, October 4th).
  • Ballots can be requested while the voting period is open from October 1st - 4th.
Because we expect a number of questions on October 1, MHNA would like to receive as many of these as possible in advance. Responses to these questions will be posted to this dedicated webpage, and will be shared after a brief presentation has been given at the meeting on October 1st. 
By fielding questions ahead of time, we hope to maximize the time we have at the meeting for new questions.
 
After the brief presentation on October 1st, and the submitted questions/responses have been shared, MHNA will answer additional questions from the in-person and online audience.
   
This meeting is not an official board or membership meeting, but will be a one that adheres to board-approved MHNA adopted Meeting & Event Rules. 
 

The following are questions received by MHNA: submitted questions will be in blue. Responses will be in black.

1. Where will the office be located? (SJ)

For 2025, we safely believe that the existing Marcy-Holmes office at 500 8th Avenue SE, and existing SECIA office on Industrial Boulevard will be maintained. During this first year, we will look for other options—if combined funds can be stretched further—but we do acknowledge that commercial/office space remains incredibly expensive throughout all Minneapolis neighborhoods (including both Dinkytown, as well as the commercial district of Nicollet Island-East Bank). A couple of things to keep in mind: a majority of Minneapolis neighborhood associations don't actually have offices at this point. While we do strongly believe we will have funds to keep an office in place, and do prefer to keep an office centrally located, the most important function of any office is the actual storage space that would be available. Neighborhood associations have a vast inventory of tables, chairs, tents, and other supplies—storage space is a large factor in any possible office space.

2. Where will in person meetings be held? (SJ)
Board meetings and membership meetings will remain flexible in their locations, and will likely rotate throughout the year. These place will include (but not be limited to): Van Cleve Park Recreation Center, Pillsbury A-Mill, Riverplace, the Dinkytown Off-Campus Safety Center, First Congregational Church, University Lutheran Church of Hope, University Baptist Church...and we are looking to expand our venues to include Minneapolis Cider Co and Lush Lounge and Theater. Committee meetings will likely be more set to a specific location, but will be dependent on how neighborhoods want to function. That is, Como area residents may prefer choose their regular location at Van Cleve Park for Environment-oriented work, while a possible combined Land Use committee could regularly meet online. This will decision formed by the Interim Board, with input from the communities.
3. How many paid employees will staff the new organization? (SJ)
Minimally there will be a full (or nearly full) time Executive Director, a part time Community Organizer, and part time Communications specialist. With a combined budget—where there will be a single bookkeeper, single liability insurance policy, single Directors and Officer insurance, single Worker Comp insurance policy, single website, and other non-duplicative or redundant costs—there will be funding available to avoid having a single employee attempt to fulfill all CEO duties, all organizing duties, and all communications duties.
 4. What I look for in a neighborhood association is an opportunity to meet neighbors and build community. When I know my neighbors and they know me they are more likely to clear their yards of trash, sweep their curbs and gutters to clear storm drains, clear their sidewalks of snow so I can walk to the bus stop, and watch my property when I am away. Would an east side partnership target those interests as effectively as our existing local association? (Submitted by a Como resident, SP)
How has your existing neighborhood association been effective over the past 5+ years to achieve the goals you outline?
 
Likely not much, as limited staff are either overextended, under qualified, or are simply out of touch about how a neighborhood association should actually function.
 
Neighborhood associations should be about events and placebuilding, but instead they have often become places of bureaucratic paperwork, assessments, and screenings. When you have a team of staff (not interns who have little professional training and myriad preexisting competing interests), you would have employees who could organize multiple site-specific events and meetings, tailored to a neighborhood or set of blocks. The East Bank Neighborhoods Partnership project has never believed that all residents from all neighborhoods will become best friends, but we do believe that they all share the same baseline interests -- keeping the neighborhoods safe, keeping the sidewalks clear, and getting rid of trash. Minimally — there are countless livability examples to mention.
 
Each neighborhood has continually stressed the need to keep alive the idea of neighborhood specific events -- whether that be cookouts, dog parades, or ice cream socials. Those will not go away with a partnership, but will be made stronger because you will have multiple staff members not only participating, but effectively and efficiently finding volunteer assistance to make such events possible.