Neighborhood crime rates and updates to the proposed opening of the Witch’s Hat Tower were the main focus of the Sept. 23 Prospect Park Association (PPA) meeting.
The meeting was held at The Market at Malcolm Yards with a range of speakers from the PPA board members to Minneapolis City Council Member Robin Wonsley (Ward 2).
The meeting’s conversation was dominated by concerned community members’ thoughts and efforts to combat crime.
Crime and safety updates in Prospect Park
Teila Zoller, 2nd Precinct crime prevention specialist. said crime overall is down from last year in the Prospect Park area. Zoller added that 116 cars were stolen last year, compared to this year, where 62 cars have been stolen.
“That’s almost close to 50% down. That’s awesome,” Zoller said. “So whatever you guys are doing, keep doing what you’re doing.”
Nicholas Torborg, a Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) 2nd Precinct inspector, said currently Prospect Park averages two car thefts a week this year.
While crime levels remain down overall, there has been a spike in burglaries last week, in family homes, residential businesses and dwellings, Zoller said.
Wonsley said the MPD had the second-largest budget in the City behind Minneapolis Public Works.
“I do want to highlight, large parts of our existing funding is going to MPD,” Wonsley said. “They are funded and they’ve had surpluses for several years because they do have sufficient funding.”
Still, community members voiced safety concerns.
John Paul, a business owner in the area, said he has had multiple bikes stolen over the last month and a half.
Britt Howell, PPA vice president, said a major problem facing community members is confusion about who has jurisdiction over crime occurring in city parks.
“We call the park police about activities that are going on in the park, they tell neighbors, ‘Oh no, you’re supposed to call MPD’ and then we call MPD and they go ‘No,’” Howell said. “At this point, I don’t care whose responsibility it is.’”
Howell said there have been times when she had to clean up needles out of the park before an event.
Torborg acknowledged the complications the MPD has working with the Metro Transit Police Department and Minneapolis Park Police & Safety.
“We try to collaborate the best we can, but there are some challenges,” Torborg said.
Zoller advised people to call 911 if suspicious activity is currently happening and call 311 if the activity is a non-urgent recurring issue. Zoller added that not allowing people to tailgate in apartment buildings can promote safety.
Witch’s Hat Tower Update
At the beginning of the meeting, PPA Secretary David Frank announced that the Witch’s Hat Tower received money from the City of Minneapolis to reopen the tower.
Wonsley said with a unanimous vote to fund the tower and the City stepping in a leadership role, the tower will open in Spring 2025 and go through a pilot stage.
“We’re looking at potentially three events at the Witch’s Hat and see how that goes,” Wonsley said.
Wonsley said she will be working with city staff on setting up a community meeting within the next year to get community input.
“We’ve been holding it down for many, many years,” Wonsley said. “So we’re really, really excited about that.”
The next PPA meeting is scheduled for Oct. 28 at 6:30 p.m.
