The Sheridan Neighborhood Organization (SNO) and Saint Anthony West Neighborhood Organization (STAWNO) have been exploring the possibility of merging. Community members who are eligible to vote will decide if they should combine operations.
Nicole Pappas Stanoch, office and outreach manager for SNO, shared several issues that could influence the upcoming vote. She explained that both organizations face financial constraints and a limited volunteer base, stressing that they’re working to fix those problems. According to Pappas Stanoch, merging with a neighboring association could “strengthen funding opportunities and better position the organization to secure increased support through grants and other financial resources.”
Services to residents would remain unchanged. However, the merger would allow the organizations to eliminate duplicate administrative costs. Both neighborhood organization have comparable assets, making the partnership more or less equal.
The new combined entity would also create a larger volunteer base to support community programs. This expanded capacity, Pappas Stanoch noted, would “drive greater collective impact and create more equitable community engagement.”
Additionally, she said joining neighborhoods would broaden the geographic reach, enabling it to address shared community needs more effectively. The main goal, she said, is to develop new ways to engage residents and tackle neighborhood issues with one voice. Advocates for the merger claim it would improve access to parks and open spaces by “expanding the available funding and network of parks in a larger geographical area will allow us to build and expand programming.”
An online survey that SNO completed in August 2025 says concerns about the merger include protecting neighborhood identity, ensuring equal representation and transparency regarding funding, programs and communication.
Paul Jablonsky, President of STAWNO, wrote in an email that the merger exploration, which has been considered for approximately two years, was intended to “determine the (pros and cons) of a combined neighborhood.”
“The challenges of recruiting volunteers and board members since COVID and the many social issues the City has faced made exploring various options on how to maintain a neighborhood organization critical,” Jablonsky added.
Jablonsky said residents are concerned that there have not been enough public meetings and that they don’t have enough information to make an informed decision. He also wrote that residents unfamiliar with the current organization “are being asked to vote on complicated issues which could result in loss of resident representation,” that “a large cultural and operational divide between the two neighborhoods has not been addressed” and that “no counter view to the Merger Report was allowed.”
The STAWNO website contains documentation about the merger exploration, including community surveys and demographic studies. It also references findings from SNO’s website.
A merger’s precedent
On November 4, 2024, the Marcy-Holmes, Southeast Como and Nicollet Island–East Bank neighborhood associations merged to form a new entity: the East Bank Neighborhoods Partnership. Executive Director Chris Lautenschlager recently shared insights on the organization’s first year.
“The first year was a lot of work to come together and coalesce into one entity,” Lautenschlager said. Approximately 75% of 2025 was spent building the new organization’s structure and operations, while 25% focused on programming and community activities.
The merger has produced cost savings. The new partnership no longer needs to maintain three separate insurance policies, websites, phone lines, tax filings and other administrative expenses. Increased visibility as a larger organization has also led to more donations. In addition, the organization has a grant writer, opening new funding opportunities beyond what the city provides.
Community engagement remains strong, Lautenschlager says. Quarterly neighborhood meetings have drawn between 100 and 120 attendees and featured speakers such as state representatives and city council members, along with discussions of ongoing projects. The turnout reflects residents’ desire to connect in person.
Overall, after a challenging first year of transition and consolidation, the East Bank Neighborhoods Partnership is now operating smoothly, according to organization management.
Merger decision reached soon
Voting began on January 26 and ends March 5, 2026. Background materials and voter information is at https://www.sheridanneighborhood.org/merger-exploration or https://stawno.org/merger.