歪歪漫画

ST. PAUL 鈥� With a whoop of joy, state Rep. Maria Isa P茅rez-Vega, DFL-St. Paul, slid down the giant slide of an inflatable obstacle course erected Monday evening at Cass Gilbert Memorial Park, which overlooks the Minnesota State Capitol building.

Most lawmakers agree that the 60 blocks surrounding the Capitol campus in St. Paul aren鈥檛 routinely associated with family fun, recreation and vitality, but a new $4 million, three-year initiative led in large part by the Ramsey County Sheriff鈥檚 Office aims to increase public safety while offering more opportunities for community in public areas.

鈥淲e want to see kids having a good time, and we want to see, most importantly, them having a safe time,鈥� P茅rez-Vega said later Monday, noting state lawmakers are tied to the area, as even lawmakers from Greater Minnesota live in and around downtown when the Legislature is in session. 鈥淭hey work in our capital city. 鈥� (But) when the session鈥檚 over, the community isn鈥檛 over.鈥�

Frederick Melo / Pioneer Press

Just outside downtown St. Paul, the Ramsey County Sheriff鈥檚 Office will use $3 million in state funds to dedicate two deputies to patrol the 60-block area that stretches from East Frogtown and Capitol Heights down to the Minnesota History Center, or from Marion to Jackson streets and from Pennsylvania Avenue down to Kellogg Boulevard.

Additional staff in the next three years will work with the city鈥檚 recreation centers to host family nights, movies in the park and other community outreach. At least four civilian ambassadors from St. Paul nonprofits will serve as neighborhood greeters, mostly near transit stops.

In addition, the St. Paul Port Authority will soon offer new and existing businesses in the area $1 million in economic development grants, each ranging in size from $50,000 to $150,000. Special focus is likely to land along Rice Street as it undergoes a $25 million reconstruction from Pennsylvania Avenue to 12th Street, most likely in 2028.

The $4 million in total funding for the new 鈥淐apitol Area Public Safety and Vitality Initiative鈥� 鈥� which includes $1 million from the latest state bonding bill for business grants 鈥� represents one of the few high-dollar wins for St. Paul out of the most recent legislative session.

鈥淯rban areas didn鈥檛 get a lot out of the bonding bill,鈥� said state Sen. Sandy Pappas, DFL-St. Paul, who was instrumental in securing the business funding. 鈥淚t mostly went to rural Minnesota.鈥�

The Capitol Area Architectural and Planning Board, which oversees zoning, planning and design in the 60-block area around the State Capitol building, is still working with the sheriff鈥檚 office and the Port Authority on the details, but a joint kickoff celebration Monday evening at Cass Gilbert Memorial Park drew optimistic remarks from Pappas and three state lawmakers 鈥� P茅rez-Vega and state Reps. Samakab Hussein and David Pinto.

The DFL lawmakers, among others, participated in a yearlong task force dedicated to wading through community concerns and priorities for the area surrounding the Capitol campus.

鈥淲e heard really loud and clear people wanted more safety, wanted more programming, wanted to feel free to walk around,鈥� said Erik Cedarleaf Dahl, executive secretary of the CAAPB board. 鈥淭his money is focused on the neighborhoods around the Capitol, not the Capitol complex itself.鈥�

Frederick Melo / Pioneer Press

Officials noted that big changes are coming to those neighborhoods, including the ongoing reconstruction of Rice Street in stages and the upcoming reconstruction of Jackson Street from Pennsylvania Avenue to University Avenue, which is scheduled to begin this month. Work on a new John Ireland Bridge will get underway in early October, the day after the Twin Cities Marathon.

Also on the horizon is a new Capitol Park Mental Health Hospital that opens this fall where Bethesda Hospital once stood, the possible redevelopment of the old Sears department store on Rice Street, and the future Tribal Flag Plaza, which will place emblems of 11 tribal nations on the Capitol Mall.

In the years ahead, two new bus rapid transit lines will roll along both Rice and Jackson streets. A tree-planting effort has already installed 200 of 400 new trees in and around the State Capitol campus.

Daryl Gullette, a Ramsey County sheriff鈥檚 inspector in charge of youth services, said the sheriff鈥檚 office will spend months crafting specific youth and family outreach based on community input, hand in hand with the city鈥檚 Frogtown Community Center. Organized kickball nights are a possible outcome, he said, as are other activities ranging from outdoor movies to youth mentorship.

Part of the goal, he said, is to create both a consistent and approachable law enforcement presence in the community. In addition to Gullette, the 鈥淰itality Team鈥� includes sheriff鈥檚 office inspectors Darin McDonald and Mike Whisler, as well as patrol deputies Marco Barton and John Gleason.

鈥淥ur assignment is partnership with the community, to build trust and engage with the youth,鈥� Barton said.