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Letter

Pat Harris Ward 3, Room 210-C City Hall St. Paul, MN 55102

Dear Mr. Harris,

As one of your former Ward 3 constituents, I was saddened to hear about the impending closure of the St. Paul Ford plant in 2010. Not only does the plant have a 90-year legacy but as I am sure you know, also offers as many as 2,000 manufacturing jobs to the St. Paul community. The task force that the city has assembled to address the issue of what to do with the historic Ford space is not considering how to help the Ford workers who may face few employment options in St. Paul after they are laid off in 2010.

For this reason, I ask you to consider the work of a vibrant community group led by Lynn Hinkle, a former Ford plant worker. The group, Alliance to Re-Industrialize for a Sustainable Economy (ARISE), is advocating using the Ford plant as a green manufacturing facility where products like wind turbines or solar panels could be produced. The demand for these products is growing and the ARISE coalition is confident that St. Paul could fill a niche market for green technology.

In addition to a green manufacturing facility, the ARISE coalition would also like to see mixed-income and community spaces included within Fords’ large campus. Housing units would be designed to be as eco-friendly and affordable as possible, hopefully fostering a diverse community of residents.

By creating a green manufacturing facility and adjacent mixed-income eco-efficient housing, the city of St. Paul would not only be embracing a burgeoning movement of eco-consciousness, but would also be keeping manufacturing jobs in our own community and supporting workers who have lived and worked in the city for many years. Further, we would be transforming a place that was used for ninety years to build fossil fuel burning devices into a facility where the same workers could work to create efficient, green technology.

As it becomes more and more clear that fossil fuels are not the wave of the future, it becomes evident that now is the time to start exploring alternatives. For that reason, I deplore you to consider the suggestions of the ARISE coalition when making decisions about the future of the St. Paul Ford plant. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. You can contact the ARISE coalition through Lynn Hinkle at lhinkle@peoplepc.com.

Thank you for considering the work of the ARISE coalition.

Peace,

Caitlin Vaughan

Box 4613 Grinnell College Grinnell, IA 50112 vaughanc@grinnell.edu