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2002-09-06 Friday NewsThe Friday News September 6, 2002 State Primary Election and Local Filings Just a reminder that the Primary election will be held on Tuesday, September l Oth. If you are unsure of your polling place, please contact City Hall. Local filing dates are August 27"' — September 10"'. To date we have had four filings: Mayor Mertensotto and former Council member John Huber have filed for Mayor; current City Council member Mary Jeanne Schneeman and former City Council member Jill Smith have filed for City Council. On Tuesday night, City Council member Mike Dwyer announced that he will not be seeking re-election this year. Delaware and 110 Cooperative Agreement For years, Mendota Heights has received complaints about the poor condition of the Delaware Avenue/110 intersection. Because Delaware is a county road intersecting with a state highway, all the City has been able to do with these complaints is make requests to the County and the State about improving the intersection. MnDOT has acknowledged that the intersection needs upgrading, but has informed us that they do not have the funds available to complete the work. They have suggested that the City or the County do the work and apply for Cooperative Agreement money from the State for their share of the costs. Dakota County has budgeted to do the work in 2004. They propose to fund the project in part with a Cooperative Agreement grant from MnDOT. Dakota County intends to apply for a fiscal year 2003 grant this fall. If the County is successful, the Cooperative Agreement money would be available in July of 2003. On Wednesday, the City Council passed a resolution of support for the application of the MnDOT grant. Chief Jeff Piotraschke Completes One Year Probationary Period Police Chief Jeffrey Piotraschke completed his one-year probationary period on August 21, 2002. On Wednesday I recommended that the City Council approve the successful completion of the probationary period, and authorize his appointment to regular status. The City Council agreed wholeheartedly and thanked Jeff for his hard work and dedication over the past year. As the City Administrator, I have been very pleased with Jeffs responsiveness to management, citizen, and City Council demands. He is a team player and has helped strengthen relationships within the department, as well as between the Police Department and Administration. I was confident in Jeffs skills and abilities when he was appointed to the position last year, and the last twelve months have only confirmed that confidence. Jeff sincerely cares about the City of Mendota Heights and the department. His understanding of public service and community relations was a strong factor in his appointment to the position, and his performance over the last year has only confirmed the selection panel's choice. Congratulations Jeff! CDA Senior Housing Development Concept Plans On Wednesday, CDA Deputy Executive Director Kari Gill and ESG Architect Jay Nelson were in attendance at the meeting to discuss the concept plans with the City Council. The architectural renderings for the Dakota County CDA senior housing development in Town Center were presented to the City Council. The CDA provided these drawings to the City Council to gather feedback prior to their formal submission. The impressive drawings show a stucco, stone and brick building with French balconies. The City Council was very impressed with the renderings and encouraged the CDA to submit the final drawings as soon as possible. Upon approval of the final plans, the CDA will complete plans and specifications and go out for bids in October/November. St. Thomas Academy Ice Arena Mr. Frank Lang appeared before the Planning Commission at their regular meeting on August 27t1 on behalf of St. Thomas Academy to discuss the Academy's Concept Plan for a Planned Unit Development for a hockey arena on the "Tousignant" property. The proposal includes an entrance drive at the northwest corner of the site, and a full access driveway in the center of the site. The ice arena portion of the property is approximately 9.45 acres. They have provided for 270 parking spaces. The facility is designed to provide 1,000 seats to accommodate the University of St. Thomas requirements. On Wednesday, the City Council discussed the PUD Concept Plan application with Mr. Lang and gave him feedback on the Concept Plan. Mr. Lang indicated that he hopes to have the arena constructed and ready to skate on by next fall. 2003 Tentative Tax Levy On Wednesday, the City Council adopted a preliminary budget and tax levy. The levy will now be certified to the County by September 15th. Once the preliminary levy is adopted, it cannot be increased, but may be decreased. The process will be the same this year, with the County sending parcel specific tax statements to the residents in November. The budget will have to be finalized and adopted by December 17th. With the removal of the basic school levy from the taxes this year, the individual homeowners are estimated to receive a reduction in their tax bill. For 2002, our residents enjoyed an approximate 30% reduction in property tax. Based on this proposed budget, we expect a small decrease in taxes for 2003 as well. *(This is the number that the levy limit applies to. Our levy limit for 2003 is $3,556,357) Ridder House Burning Training Exercise In May, the City Council approved the burning of a home on the Ridder property for fire department training purposes. The Fire Department will be conducting this exercise on September 7t''. On September 6th at 5:00 PM, they will be conducting an additional training session in the building. Chief Maczko has extended the invitation to participate in this exercise to any City employee, Commissioner or Council member that would be interested in participating. If you are interested, please contact Chief John Maczko for further details. Final Thought "No day in which you learn something is a complete loss" — David Eddings Respectfully Submitted, Cari Lindberg Administrator Attachments: Pipeline, Just the Facts, Planning Application Synopsis, Parks and Recreation Commission agenda, ARC agenda, Sun Current Articles "Filings open in MH, three filed so far," "West St. Paul - Mendota Heights Sun Current changing day, look," American Red Cross publication "September 11, One Year Later," Firefighter Surprised His Significant Other.". 2002 Preliminary 2002 Final 2003 Preliminary General Fund $2,954,163 $2,865,990 $3,120,707 Emergency Prep. $2,500 $22,500 $2,000 Fire Relief $33,000 $33,000 $34,000 Infrastructure $50,000 $50,000 $50,000 Legal & contingency $60,000 $60,000 $60,000 $3,099,663 $3,031,490 $3,266,707* Special Levies $519,844 $519,844 $430,042 Total Levy $3,639,507 $3,551,334 $3,696,749 Less LGA $0 $13,301 $13,302 Net Levy $3,639,507 $3,538,033 $3,683,447 *(This is the number that the levy limit applies to. Our levy limit for 2003 is $3,556,357) Ridder House Burning Training Exercise In May, the City Council approved the burning of a home on the Ridder property for fire department training purposes. The Fire Department will be conducting this exercise on September 7t''. On September 6th at 5:00 PM, they will be conducting an additional training session in the building. Chief Maczko has extended the invitation to participate in this exercise to any City employee, Commissioner or Council member that would be interested in participating. If you are interested, please contact Chief John Maczko for further details. Final Thought "No day in which you learn something is a complete loss" — David Eddings Respectfully Submitted, Cari Lindberg Administrator Attachments: Pipeline, Just the Facts, Planning Application Synopsis, Parks and Recreation Commission agenda, ARC agenda, Sun Current Articles "Filings open in MH, three filed so far," "West St. Paul - Mendota Heights Sun Current changing day, look," American Red Cross publication "September 11, One Year Later," Firefighter Surprised His Significant Other.".