Occupation: General Manager Address: 4827 Park Ave. S. (55417) Neighborhood of Residence: Field Years in Neighborhood: 3 years Years in Minneapolis: 6 years Phone: 612-250-8950 E-Mail:StevenMiller2000@aol.com
How have your life experiences prepared you to be a neighborhood representative?
My aptitude for problem solving has been my greatest personal resource. My second greatest resource has been my drive to carry a solution through to its result. Over the last four years of founding the Chatterbox Pub organization, I've been able to demonstrate that I could recreate a neighborhood institution that is now in line with current community ideals and needs. This required thinking outside of the box (pun intended), as well as the drive to see obstacles as things you find your way around. To do this I've listened, studied, evaluated, planned, explained, convinced, implemented, and verified.
What do you consider to be the strengths and weaknesses of the NRP?
NRP's strength and weakness is the independence of it's individual organizations. This allows the flexibility for neighborhoods to address their priorities in ways that they feel most comfortable with. This empowerment is really rewarding for people who want to be involved in their community and encourages active participation. It also means that the wheel is reinvented over and over again, but sometimes it doesn't work very well and yet others far exceed their original intentions.
How have you participated in your neighborhood organization and its NRP process?
I've served on the board of the Corcoran Neighborhood Organization for three years as the Treasurer, as well as serving other roles such as sitting on the personnel committee. I've dealt with the struggles of trying to figure out how the NRP process works. I've worked hard to help pull together strong staffing, as well as retaining that happy, enthusiastic staff which equated to happy, enthusiastic volunteers.
How do you plan to maintain a relationship with the neighborhoods you would represent if elected?
I think at this time it is very, very important to get the neighborhoods involved and informed. At CNO we've seen things come before us recently from the policy board with no explanations. This would not happen with me on the board. So first I would like to gather representatives from the neighborhoods together to quantify their individual and collective priorities. I would create an e-mail and mailing address list to send regular updates on our progress as it happens. I would also happily be available for monthly Q & A sessions.
Name one thing you would like to work on if elected.
Phase II funding, but more immediately we need funding for neighborhoods caught in the middle. The most successful neighborhoods with the strongest organizations are the very ones in danger of losing their momentum when funding runs out. This means losing staff that hold irreplaceable knowledge, relationships, and dedication. For these neighborhoods to have to start over would be tragic. Current grants could be lost and future grants would be harder to obtain. This is an immediate problem. I feel I must and can present a solution.
Why are you running for a neighborhood representative seat on the Policy Board?
Beyond my answer to the previous question, I've come to be very proud of our city for the hard work and results that these organizations and individuals have done. I want to ensure that this avenue is maintained, cherished, and becomes a generational fixture in our city.
Please list any community-based organizations with which you are currently involved.
Corcoran Neighborhood Organization
Please list all current paid and unpaid affiliations.
None
