Successful Strategies
Joining your local park advisory council.
Local parks in Minneapolis and St. Paul have advisory councils who advise the park staff choosing programs and who help their park through volunteering and fundraising. Neighborhood associations can help residents who are serving on their local park’s advisory council learn how to best access resources for their park from the neighborhood, the park board and other public and private funding sources.
Helping with park planning advisory committees. When the park board is planning to upgrade the facilities and/or grounds of a local park they form a short-term advisory committee to give feedback to park planners on their designs, and sort through how to balance the many competing uses of local and regional park users. Neighborhood associations can call the park board to find out if, and when, their local park is scheduled for capital improvements, so they can help residents get involved in the planning process early. If your park is considered to be a regional facility, residents from other neighborhoods will also be selected from the park board to serve on the park advisory committee to offer regional perspectives.
Neighborhood groups can also advocate for park changes. Neighborhood associations and district councils can access funds from the Minneapolis NRP program or St. Paul STAR program to help fund capital and program improvements for their local park. Volunteers active with the neighborhood association may find it helpful to also serve on their park advisory council or planning advisory committee to coordinate their efforts with the park board’s internal planning process. Neighborhood groups often conduct extensive neighborhood surveys to find out more about the needs and priorities of residents for their local park. Neighborhood associations can also identify neighborhood gardeners, artists and mentors who can help improve the parks grounds and programs. Finally, neighborhood associations can also write grants to foundations to help fund the capital and program improvements they want for their park.
Citizen action groups take a long-term view of parks. Several citizen action groups have formed in Minneapolis around the long-term vision which local residents have for the city’s parks. These citizen action groups provide the valuable services of recruiting volunteer help, raising funds for improvements and working with public and private partners to realize a common vision. Citizen groups include the Friends of Minneapolis Parks, Midtown Greenway Coalition, Save Cedar Lake Park, Mississippi Corridor Neighborhood Coalition, and the Multi-Neighborhood Clean Water Task Force.
Sports leagues can strengthen connections between families. Athletic leagues that organize pee wee, youth and adult leagues for team sports provide a wonderful opportunity for mentoring youth, building connections among residents, and strengthening bonds between members of immigrant communities.
Make the most of natural amenities and corridors. Many neighborhoods located along the Mississippi river, major creeks, lakes and park lands are seeking to reduce industrial uses along these areas (especially along the upper Mississippi, Cedar Lake, Basset’s Creek & Phalen Creek) to link neighborhood residential areas with these natural areas.
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Annotated WebLinks
Public Decision-Making on Open Space Issues
Embrace Open Space Citizen Engagement Campaign 09/12/03
In partnership with ten open space protection organizations, The McKnight Foundation's "Embrace Open Space" campaign provides information and advocacy strategies for working on local land use and open space protection issues.
City Park Board
Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board 03/31/03
Minneapolis parks and recreation info
County Park Board
Ramsey County Parks 03/31/03
Ramsey County parks info
City Park Board
St. Paul Parks and Recreation 03/31/03
St. Paul parks and recreation info
County Park Board
Three Rivers Park District 03/31/03
Formerly Hennepin Parks, the site lists departments, parks and info.
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Library
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Vendors by Sub-Topic
Citizen Action Groups- for Parks 
Cedar Lake Park Association
Friends of the Mississippi River
Midtown Greenway Coalition
City/ County Park Boards
Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board
St. Paul Parks and Recreation
Three Rivers Park District
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