Loring Greenway Association

May, 2013

The Loring Greenway Association is excited to debut the concert series "Music on the Greenway" starting May 23, 2013 and continuing on Thursday afternoons through the summer. The concerts will start at 4:30pm and be held near the Greenway steps of the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Come out and enjoy our new tables and chairs, and hear some wonderful music. See you there! Learn more.

February, 2013

The Loring Greenway Association has announced that in May of 2013, the greenway will proudly sport twenty-five new three-piece, moveable table and chair sets. This furniture has been chosen specifically by the LGA to increase the useage of the greenway through the promotion of conversation and community. Look for the new furniture to be placed around the gardens and walks in May, and invite your family and friends to "meet on the Greenway!"

February, 2011

The Annual Meeting of the LGA was well attended by volunteers and neighbors. Representatives of Damon Farber Associates presented their vision of an Enhancement Plan for the Loring Greenway: "Finishing the Plan". The presentation, in writing, graphics and photos, offered options for dramatic lighting, attractive seating, directional signage and banners for color and events. The plan, with its options, will be used as a visual for a multi-year capital campaign. Questions and dialogue followed. Keep an eye on the Future page for more information, as it develops.

January, 2011

In recognition of the dedication of the board and volunteers of the Loring Greenway Association three awards were received in 2010. Do take a look at the Awards page for more information.

October 16, 2010

Oktoberfest was our second scheduled event on the Greenway. It was another great success, thanks to more than 200 hours of volunteer time. Between 125 and 150 people attended, including people of all ages from all of the buildings bordering the Loring Greenway. There were also a few passers-by who joined us for food and beverages. The windy weather did nothing to dampen people's spirits; people chatted, ate, mixed, played lawn games and listened to music. We even made a bit of money for the Greenway!
This event taught us a lot about how to run such events; you can be sure next year's Oktoberfest will be even better.

Do check out the Oktoberfest photos in the Photo Gallery
.

August 4, 2010

Our first scheduled event on the Greenway, a Pet Parade, was a great success. About 75 people came out to walk with their dogs or just to watch their friends and neighbors. Everyone considered this a good first event, a promise of community activities to come. Do check out the photos of the parade in the Photo Gallery.

July, 2010

The Greenway is looking great! Lots of new plantings that are growing apace. Cracked concrete was replaced. The "Loring Greenway" sign at the Nicollet Ave entrance now has its "L" back.

June 10, 2010

The Spring Fund Drive was a success. Most of the 2009 donors contributed again and there were 57 new donors. This strongly demonstrates that the Loring Greenway community is supporting the work of the LGA, is pleased with the results achieved so far, and wants the Greenway kept in the best possible condition.
Several trees on the Greenway were removed in an effort to improve the health of the remaining trees. Their stumps were also removed.
The ash trees were treated to prevent infestation by the emerald ash borer beetle. These treatments are very expensive and will continue to consume a significant percentage of the LGA annual budget for several more years.
Concrete that had crumbled (in spite of being only two years old) was repaired, the spalling of the red concrete in a few places will be repaired under warranty, and the missing "L" in the Loring Greenway sign on the Nicollet Mall will be replaced.
The LGA Board views the striping of a crosswalk across Willow to Loring Park as the lowest cost and most practical solution to speed reduction at this time. However, the LGA has no funds available to support even striping.
Information boxes about the Greenway and the LGA have been added to the two "rocket ship" kiosks that formerly housed telephones.
Work continues on the LGA website ( www.loringgreenway.org ). Thanks to the Spangler Design Team ( http://www.spanglerdesign.com ), we now have a great looking website. Keeping it up-to-date remains an issue under consideration by the LGA Board. A fully web-based approach is deemed too expensive to implement at this time.
Another successful planting day was held on May 29th. Many thanks to all the volunteers who participated. Photos of that activity are available in the Photo Gallery ( http://photos.loringgreenway.org ).
Beth Davies has retired as Chairman of the Gardening Committee. The LGA Board thanks Beth for all of her efforts in designing the plantings of the Loring Greenway, organizing the Gardening Committee, seeing us through two seasons and seeing to countless other details. Her inspiration and energy were invaluable. Marsha Weidenhammer will replace Beth Davies as the Chairman of the Gardening Committee.
Sally Westby, the Events Chairman for the Loring Greenway has begun the process of planning events that might be appropriate to the Loring Greenway. She has asked the LGA Board to address the questions of why events are desirable, what types of events are appropriate and how many events should be held each year.

April 15, 2010

Marsha Weidenhammer has joined the LGA Board as the representative of the The Tower of 1200 on the Mall Association. This now gives us representation from all of the residential buildings along the Loring Greenway.
Sally Westby, residing at Greenway Gables, was elected to the LGA Board as an at-large member. She will be our events coordinator for the Loring Greenway.

January 25, 2010

The LGA has received state approval for a nonprofit sales tax exemption.
A memorandum of understanding with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board has been drafted. An encroachment permit is also nearly finished and the City will waive fee. Hopefully both will be signed before the annual meeting.
Loring Greenway trees that will be removed because of poor health or overcrowding have been marked at their base with a white dot. The LGA will get two weeks notice before trees are cut down. Signs notifying residents about tree removal will be posted in six different locations.
Fund raising packages have been developed that are targeted to specific needs, such as seating, the 24 banner poles, enhanced lighting, and signage. Most of them are doable within the year.
The appearance of the LGA web site ( http://theloringgreenway.org ) has been jazzed up a bit, but it remains a static web site that requires a programmer to change content. The next step would be to make it a dynamic community building and management tool. With it, users could input and modify information regarding specific events, such as a gardening work day or a dog parade. The database would be designed so that it could be queried to generate reports, e-mail lists and mailing labels. The public pages of the website would provide information about the LGA to the general public. Signed-in users would control information to which they are authorized. The next step is to identify possible developers and get cost estimates for construction, maintenance, and oversight. The LGA board will have to determine cost-benefit.
An LGA annual report is being prepared for neighborhood residents and contributors. It will highlight the accomplishments of the Loring Greenway Association during the past year and outline future challenges. The LGA Board set a deadline of the end of January to finalize the report. The goal is to have copies to circulate with the notice of the annual meeting.
The LGA annual meeting will be held February 11, 2010 at 110 West Grant. A notice will be sent via e-mail with a copy of the Annual Report.

November 19, 2009

Loring Greenway trees that will be removed because of poor health or overcrowding have been marked at their base with a white dot. Signs will be posted on the Greenway explaining what is being done with the trees and why it is necessary. Tree removals will take place in January, 2010.
Nonprofits everywhere are stressed for donations. However, we need to press ahead with fund raising for the coming year. The LGA board is looking for contacts able to influence company or foundation donations. Specific sponsorship opportunities are being developed for these people, such as such as benches, web site advertising, enhanced signage, enhanced lighting, enhanced security, trees, enhanced plantings, art (especially sculpture), product giveaways, naming rights (fountains, pots), events (wine tasting, art fair, garage sales, pet parade, concerts, movies), and corporate volunteer days. The LGA board is also looking for ways to acknowledge gifts on the Greenway, such as posting the donor�s name.
An LGA annual report is being prepared for neighborhood residents and contributors. It will highlight the accomplishments of the Loring Greenway Association during the past year and outline future challenges.
The LGA board has realized that an effective LGA website is an important tool and that professional help in creating and maintaining it is necessary. Specifications are being prepared for obtaining bids.
LGA neighborhood associations are being asked for help in creating and maintaining address lists.

October 16, 2009

A Notice will be posted at each of the entrances to the Loring Greenway that details the work that will be done to its trees during this Fall and Winter. As this also entails the removal of a few trees, the LGA Board wants to make sure that the public has adequate advanced warning.
The City of Minneapolis has turned over management of the trees on the Loring Greenway to the LGA and the Park Board. A memorandum of understanding is being developed that will cover such issues as fertilizing, pruning and removal. A precedent for this approach to tree management exists for the trees on Hennepin Avenue.
The City has indicated it wants to deal with issues regarding plants, signage and all else by means of an encroachment permit rather than a contract. The LGA will develop a list of anticipated encroachments to be covered by the permit.
The next meeting of the LGA will be largely devoted to brainstorming regarding future LGA fundraising and marketing activities.

September 16, 2009

The many trees along the Greenway are a mini-forest that needs to be properly managed to ensure its long-term health. This includes planting new trees, treating trees for actual and potential diseases (such as the Emerald Ash Borer) and the removal of trees because of poor health. A forestry plan has been developed and distributed to the public. A copy of the plan is attached to this newsletter.
The Loring Greenway Association, the city of Minneapolis, and the Parks and Recreation Board are all involved with Greenway activities. The need for a legal, contractual agreement spelling out the Rights and Obligations of each party is being discussed. More on this as it develops.
A plat map of the Greenway has been obtained from the city, which resolves questions about the boundaries of the Greenway and the adjoining private properties.
The city will install a railing at the entrance to the Greenway by Nicollet Mall
The city may have some large decorative rocks available for the Greenway.
The city Public Works Department has indicated that its obligation of one staff person for Greenway maintenance is intended to continue.
Letters have been provided to all 2009 donors to date containing the amount of their tax deductible donation.
Work continues on a website to coordinate and publicize LGA efforts. An initial prototype has been shown to the LGA board. We hope to have it online soon.
The Downtown Ambassadors have helped prevent bike riders from riding on Greenway berms. The Ambassadors office had previously stated it's willingness to assist with such incidents. The Ambassadors telephone number is: 612-332-1111.

August 16, 2009

The Loring Greenway Association is now officially a tax-exempt public charity. Contributions to the LGA are deductible from your federal income tax. Don't worry, the contributions you've already made to the LGA through the CLPC are still deductible, but from now on you can write checks directly to the LGA. So why is this a big deal? It means the LGA is now a fully independent organization.
The LGA is getting an unbelievable level of cooperation from the City, which is more than willing to help set up a management plan for the Greenway. There is general agreement on strategies to manage the health of existing trees and numerous spots have been identified for smaller trees, some with color.
The yews that died last winter have been replaced by a large number of perennials and the Greenway is looking great.
Green Ash Borer treatments will begin as soon as a determination is made of which trees to treat.
The Gardening committee has had another successful maintenance day. Thanks to the volunteers who picked weeds, trimmed vines and aerated soil.
The Gardening committee is developing a plan for making the concrete abutment areas softer, and for the placement of trees and shrubs. They are also developing an inventory of the various types of plants and trees in the Greenway.
Beth Davies, our master gardener, has agreed to continue in that role through September 2011.
We are working with the CLPC to develop a plan for calming traffic on Willow Street.
The recent LGA fund mailing was very successful. We had a 5% contribution rate, which is considered very good for such mailings. We did have a few problems with our mailing list, but these are now being fixed. Many thanks to the volunteers who helped assemble more than 1100 pieces of mail.
The Communications committee continues working on a website to coordinate and publicize our efforts. An initial prototype has been shown to the LGA board. We hope to have it online soon.

July, 2009

Good News: Check out the great article on "Keeping the Greenway Green" in the July 6th Downtown Journal. Our efforts are being recognized in the community.
Yew News: The yews that died last winter will be replaced on Wednesday and Thursday by a combination of heartier yews and perennials. All the flowers we planted are doing great, sending out their leafy stalks and adding splotches of color to the berms along the walkways and in the large planters. Also, the lawns that were reseeded are finally beginning to look respectable.
LGA News: The Loring Greenway Association (the LGA) now has a board of directors, officers and a number of committees. We applied for official status as a non-profit organization, but that takes a while to obtain. Meanwhile, all contributions to the LGA are tax-deductible through the CLPC.
The Fundraising committee is sending a letter this month to our neighbors asking for both financial support and additional volunteers.
The Communications committee is working on building a website to help coordinate and publicize our efforts. The address of the website is www.theloringgreenway.org
Green Ash Borers: Treatment of Greenway Ash trees begins August 15.