“Olsen asked that dog owners contact the MPRB directly with what mattered most to them about the park.”
Lol. I would say you can’t make this up, but I suspect the Monty Python troupe would’ve done it well. The dog park community has been asking the Park Board for transparency and engagement for nearly 2 years now, and our requests have fallen on deaf ears.
When the Park Board was looking to fence Minnehaha Dog Park in the fall of 2024, this question was put into the FAQ section of their project website a month or two after they announced the fence:
Q: Was this decision made transparently?
A: This project fell under the “inform” level of community engagement which means that staff needed to inform the public about the plan to install fencing at the boundaries of the off-leash area. Previous public engagement efforts have not led to changes in the behavior of some park users, and more communication would not change the issue of off-leash dogs going onto adjacent property or Park Board property requiring leashing of dogs.
The website is still up. Nothing has changed with Park Board’s transparency and engagement since.
The 2026 budget for Mpls Parks is $160MM. If the Park Board continues to be a net negative to me personally, I’d be fully comfortable driving their budget to $0.
My experience is very similar to Mike's. I'm not sure I've ever encountered an elected official as rude and unresponsive as Tom Olsen. The idea that he actually cares what Minnehaha Dog Park users want in a new dog park is laughable. He refuses to engage with anyone who wants to keep the park as is, and his friends have started a harassment campaign against the people who made the mistake of speaking out for the dog park in front of the Park Board.
I question why I should remain a Democrat when I'm treated by someone employed to be a Communications Specialist by the DFL who refuses to communicate with his own constituents.
If you look at the salary bumps for people who have the same job title from 2019 to 2025 it’s oftentimes way over 100%. Just as an example the person at the top of the list, Adam Swierczek J went from $89,631 in 2019 to $206,697 in 2025–an over 130% increase in six years—all while keeping the “Police Sergeant Parks P” job title. Another gentleman, Morris Dennis whose job title since 2020 has been “ Police Officer Parks B P” went from $75,199 in 2020 to $158,707 in 2025–a 111% increase in five years. An “Environmental Education Lead P” (Gretchen Elise Engstrom) who earned $63,807 in 2019 made $117,115 in 2025–an 83.5% increase in six years.
I’m sure these are all fine people and employees, but the simple fact is that normal residents and tax payers in Minneapolis aren’t getting similar salary increases. I really encourage people to spend a little time checking out data on the website above. The salary increases I highlighted in this post are actually far more the “rule” than the “exception”. I think this needs to be part of the discussion when taxpayers have been taking such a huge hit for local government expansion for the past six years.
I haven’t looked at salary increases for Minneapolis city employees (yet) but I suspect to find similar increases. Ditto at the Hennepin county level. Anyway, it’s a very informative website.
It’s also worth noting that figures are for salary only, and don’t including escalating costs for benefits like health care and retirement plans.
I feel like this guy is one of the worst politicians in our city right now. The absolutely does not listen to anyone other than those in his bubble. You can tell from his social media activity and also if you try to contact him. Telling was when he pushed through his parkway closure referendum in the middle of Operation Metro Surge, when many people were afraid to leave their homes much less pay attention to what was going on at the park board or show up to give comment.
“Olsen asked that dog owners contact the MPRB directly with what mattered most to them about the park.”
Lol. I would say you can’t make this up, but I suspect the Monty Python troupe would’ve done it well. The dog park community has been asking the Park Board for transparency and engagement for nearly 2 years now, and our requests have fallen on deaf ears.
When the Park Board was looking to fence Minnehaha Dog Park in the fall of 2024, this question was put into the FAQ section of their project website a month or two after they announced the fence:
Q: Was this decision made transparently?
A: This project fell under the “inform” level of community engagement which means that staff needed to inform the public about the plan to install fencing at the boundaries of the off-leash area. Previous public engagement efforts have not led to changes in the behavior of some park users, and more communication would not change the issue of off-leash dogs going onto adjacent property or Park Board property requiring leashing of dogs.
The website is still up. Nothing has changed with Park Board’s transparency and engagement since.
The 2026 budget for Mpls Parks is $160MM. If the Park Board continues to be a net negative to me personally, I’d be fully comfortable driving their budget to $0.
I had you in mind when I asked him about it.
My experience is very similar to Mike's. I'm not sure I've ever encountered an elected official as rude and unresponsive as Tom Olsen. The idea that he actually cares what Minnehaha Dog Park users want in a new dog park is laughable. He refuses to engage with anyone who wants to keep the park as is, and his friends have started a harassment campaign against the people who made the mistake of speaking out for the dog park in front of the Park Board.
I question why I should remain a Democrat when I'm treated by someone employed to be a Communications Specialist by the DFL who refuses to communicate with his own constituents.
I encourage voters to explore the data at the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation portion of govsaleries.com—- https://govsalaries.com/salaries/MN/minneapolis-park-and-recreation-board?__cf_chl_tk=d_To1w2Ni7YKEWuCOQPX3.m4a.WyI9Umziqm.2in6Xo-1787274972-1.0.1.1-mpJQfyhPi2fO.au94_Zheytsl1q0nJKh8wQrqGIHEbc
If you look at the salary bumps for people who have the same job title from 2019 to 2025 it’s oftentimes way over 100%. Just as an example the person at the top of the list, Adam Swierczek J went from $89,631 in 2019 to $206,697 in 2025–an over 130% increase in six years—all while keeping the “Police Sergeant Parks P” job title. Another gentleman, Morris Dennis whose job title since 2020 has been “ Police Officer Parks B P” went from $75,199 in 2020 to $158,707 in 2025–a 111% increase in five years. An “Environmental Education Lead P” (Gretchen Elise Engstrom) who earned $63,807 in 2019 made $117,115 in 2025–an 83.5% increase in six years.
I’m sure these are all fine people and employees, but the simple fact is that normal residents and tax payers in Minneapolis aren’t getting similar salary increases. I really encourage people to spend a little time checking out data on the website above. The salary increases I highlighted in this post are actually far more the “rule” than the “exception”. I think this needs to be part of the discussion when taxpayers have been taking such a huge hit for local government expansion for the past six years.
Thank you. I was also asked to compare costs of an independent park board to a city department.
I haven’t looked at salary increases for Minneapolis city employees (yet) but I suspect to find similar increases. Ditto at the Hennepin county level. Anyway, it’s a very informative website.
It’s also worth noting that figures are for salary only, and don’t including escalating costs for benefits like health care and retirement plans.
I feel like this guy is one of the worst politicians in our city right now. The absolutely does not listen to anyone other than those in his bubble. You can tell from his social media activity and also if you try to contact him. Telling was when he pushed through his parkway closure referendum in the middle of Operation Metro Surge, when many people were afraid to leave their homes much less pay attention to what was going on at the park board or show up to give comment.
“Park Board President Tom Olsen advocates for closing parkways. Again”
https://minneapolistimes.com/park-board-president-tom-olsen-advocates-for-closing-parkways-again/