Dear members and supporters,
Thank you for your continued involvement with the progress of the proposed West Bank Improvement District. After many years of hard work and organization, we’re excited to come to the next phase of implementation. The West Bank Improvement District steering committee will be collecting and sending in petitions to the City of Minneapolis beginning in March. If we receive 25% support by April 1, we can continue collecting petitions into April. Reaching our participation goals will enable us to have a district up and operating by 2014.
The West Bank Improvement District (WBID) will provide a funding mechanism for enhanced services to the West Bank neighborhood that foster neighborhood safety, improve the experience for residents and visitors, and maintain improvements. The need for this district comes out of the community’s desire to make the West Bank a more vibrant, clean, and safe environment. For more information about the district, news and our plans, as well as to view a list of supporters, please visit the WBID page on this site: http://www.wbba.thewestbank.org/?page_id=18.
We are presenting a plan that we hope you will support. You should also be aware that the council and Public Works is currently establishing a policy on Self-Managed Special Services Districts. Their policy planning, which includes input from business districts and commercial corridors throughout Minneapolis, is happening in parallel with our work. We ask for your participation as we adopt a program within their guidelines that will ultimately serve your businesses and properties by improving our neighborhood.
If you are in support of this, please take a moment to fill out and return the a signed petition to approve the West Bank Improvement District. We need your support in order to enable district operations that will make the West Bank cleaner, safer, and a more vibrant place to live, learn and work. Please return your signed, notarized petition to the WBBA, ideally before March 28th to meet our April 1 goal. Originals can be sent or delivered to:
The West Bank Business Association
1420 Washington Ave South
Minneapolis, MN 55454
As we go through this process, we are also working on the Operating Plan, Business Plan, and annual budgets for the district. You can find the most recent versions of those documents on the WBID page on this site: http://www.wbba.thewestbank.org/?page_id=18. As we meet with the city and our stakeholders (you!) we will be updating these documents on a regular basis, as well as the list of supporters – so please check back regularly.
We look forward to supporting the West Bank community and thank our stakeholders and partners for their support and help in this effort. For questions or to have us pick up your petition, please contact us: Call Jamie Schumacher at 612-326-9652 or email info@thewestbank.org.
Sincerely,
The West Bank Improvement District steering committee.
Resources
- You can find a pdf version of the cover letter letter here: (pdf) http://www.wbba.thewestbank.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/WBID_CoverLetter.pdf
- and a downloadable version of the petition here: (pdf) http://www.wbba.thewestbank.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/WBID-Petition-to-Establish-District-and-Imposition-of-2014-Service-Charges.pdf
