Neighborhood Energy Connection

As a tangible result of our January 25th Focus Area meeting, the Neighborhood Energy Connection is making a valuable offer to Frogtowners: free home energy squad visits! This work can help you save money on your energy bills and reduce your home energy consumption! See the message below from NEC:

Attention Frogtown Neighbors: The Neighborhood Energy Connection invites you to take advantage of a limited time opportunity: FREE Home Energy Squad visits, including materials and labor, through March 31!

The Neighborhood Energy Connection and Xcel Energy bring energy savings to your door with the Home Energy Squad, a skilled crew that will make your home more comfortable and reduce your utility bills in one easy visit. The visit lasts less than two hours. After consulting with you, the Home Energy Squad will install a selection of energy-saving measures, including:

• great-looking, energy-efficient light bulbs
• water-saving faucets and shower heads
• exterior door weather stripping
• water heater insulation
• a programmable thermostat

These measures will save an average of $192 annually on energy bills.

We'll also recommend next steps for bigger energy savings.

Through March 31, 2012, Frogtown households, including 1-4 unit rental properties, can receive a Home Energy Squad visit at no cost. Renters will need permission from their landlords. Renters, please ask us for assistance and forms when you call to schedule your appointment.

Check our online appointment calendar for an open date/time that works for you, and then call 651-328-6220 to schedule a Home Energy Squad visit. Mention your free Frogtown promotion to the scheduler.

Visit the NEC FAQs page for common questions and answers about a Home Energy Squad visit.

Spanish and Hmong interpreters available  /  Hablamos español  /  Peb muaj neeg hais lus Hmoob

Frogtown Focus Area

Hey Frogtowners! Long time no talk, eh? Here’s an update on the Frogtown Neighborhood Association’s newest project!

We brought up this summer in our first blog post how the bank treatment of Frogtown homes has led to high vacancy rates. We observed that the area between University and Thomas, from Dale to Western, is currently experiencing the highest vacancy rate in Frogtown. As a result, we’ve chosen this area as our Frogtown Focus area, a pilot project for small area development. 

To begin this project, the Frogtown Neighborhood Association, Springboard for the Arts, and Habitat for Humanity came together to invite organizations working in Frogtown and residents living in the focus area to get together to begin talking about what development in this area could look like. We began with each attendee posting two things they see as assets to the neighborhood a map of the focus area; the assets were quite diverse, and varied from the Frogtown Farm site, to senior housing facilities, to re-developable vacant lots.

With our asset map in place, we began visioning what we’d like to see in the neighborhood five years from now by answering the question “In five years, what will a thriving community, in this neighborhood, look and feel like?” Out of these ideas came ten categories: Free health care; stable, affordable, occupied homes; art & beauty; community pride; green space; people stay and people choose to move here; safe community; safe transit options; economic and employment; and cultural and historic district. These categories laid the groundwork for the discussion following the visioning. For these discussions, the group split into organizations and residents, talking about what they can do and what they’d like to see. 

This meeting was just the first of many to come – if you’re a resident living in our focus area, you can look forward to seeing us knocking on your door and soliciting your involvement. Until then, if you’re interested in getting involved, you can contact Sam at Sam@frogtownmn.org. If you'd like any maps or data about our focus area, please email Maggie@frogtownmn.org.