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2002-10-18 Friday News The Friday News October 18, 2002 CDA Developer’s Agreement Approved for Town Center Building On Tuesday night, the City Council approved the developer’s agreement with Dakota County CDA. Now that the agreement is signed, the CDA will go out for bids with the intention of breaking ground on the facility in November. RV Ordinance As you recall, the City Ordinance precludes a resident from storing an RV on his/her driveway, but does not prohibit the parking of such vehicle on the driveway. This is problematic as there is no clarification as to how long a recreational vehicle has to be “parked,” before it is considered “stored.” At the September Planning Commission meeting, the RV ordinance was presented for review and comment. On Tuesday night, the City Council reviewed the Planning Commissions comments and the ordinance. They made a motion to send the original draft ordinance back to the Planning Commission for a public hearing in November. The proposed ordinance prohibits the parking of any mobile homes or recreational camping vehicles on the street in a residential district. It also prohibits the parking of a mobile home or recreational camping vehicle in the driveway of a home in a residential district that is greater than 8 ft in height, greater than 22 ft in length or greater than 6,500 lbs. in weight. The Planning th Commission will hold a public hearing on the draft ordinance at its November 26 meeting. The complete draft ordinance is available on the website for public review. City Council Approves 2002 Deer Hunt Request The City has received inquiries from residents of the Somerset Area with the request that the City once again authorize a limited deer hunt within the City boundaries. The City of Mendota Heights, with its abundant open space, has its fair share of the deer population. Maintenance of a manageable deer herd will require periodic, or regular, limited hunts. On six previous occasions, the City Council authorized limited deer hunts on private property at the request of landowners within an 87-acre tract of land in the Somerset Area bound by Dodd Road, Wentworth Avenue, Delaware Avenue and Marie Avenue. The Metro Bow hunters Resource Base (MBRB), under the conditions specified by the City of Mendota Heights, has coordinated the hunts. Given that prior hunts were conducted successfully, this year’s hunt will use the same methodology. I have been in contact with Mr. Ron Cormere, of MBRB, to discuss the hunt. The DNR will be asked to determine a reasonable target number of deer that could be taken. I have contacted each of the surrounding property owners asking if they would like to take part in the limited hunt. On Tuesday night the City Council authorized the 2002 Deer hunt in the Somerset area. th November 5 City Council Meeting th The next meeting of the City Council will be held on election day—Tuesday, November 5. Please note that the meeting will not begin until 8:00 PM, after the election polls have closed. The City Council is required by state statute to canvass the returns of the City Election within two days after the election. On Tuesday night, the City Council scheduled the Canvassing Board meeting at 5:00 PM on the day th following the election (November 6). Budget Workshop In early September, the City Council adopted the Preliminary Levy for 2003. The City now must adopt the final levy and budget by December 28, 2002. On Tuesday night, the City Council scheduled the 2003 th) Budget Workshop for the second Tuesday in November at 7:00 PM (November 12. Please also see the list of proposed tax rates in Dakota County. Mendota Heights has the third lowest proposed tax rate for 2003 at 28.788%--only to be beaten by Sunfish Lake at 20.896% and Lilydale at 24.678%. Halloween Bonfire Join us at the annual City Halloween bonfire on October 31 from 7-9PM. The event will be held on the undeveloped portion of the Mendota Plaza Shopping Center property. The Volunteer Fire Department will carry on the tradition and run this year’s event. Hot dogs, soda and other goodies are free and a ghostly good time is guaranteed. Residents of Mendota Heights are allowed to deposit brush no larger than 4” in diameter as fuel for the fire. In the past, the City has had problems with illegal dumping at the site which costs the City a great deal of money. In order to prevent the illegal dumping, the City will be thth limiting the hours of operation from 8am-7pm from the 19 –29 of October. We will also be increasing the signage and limiting access to the dumping site. Unauthorized dumping is a misdemeanor with a fine of up to $1,000. Fire Department Open House The annual Fire Department open house was very well attended on Saturday. The Relief Association gave out over 800 hot dogs to hungry visitors. “Pluggy” the fire hydrant and the fire truck rides were very popular, as well as the smoke house and a new event this year-- Bingo, which was headed up by Firefighter Steve Boley. Another big hit was a new fire safety house constructed by our own firefighter Ron Katzenmaier. The house is modeled after a display that Ron saw (which if purchased would have cost $5,000.) Thanks to all who participated. Dakota County Northern Service Center Services Please see the attached informational sheet which lists all of the Dakota County government departments located at the new Northern Service Center in West St. Paul. Mendota Heights Presentation to Livable Communities Board The Livable Communities Demonstration Account Advisory Committee met on September 23rd to complete its preliminary evaluations of 38 applications and make its first cut. I'm happy to report that the application for the City of Mendota Heights was one of those applications. On Wednesday afternoon, the Livable Communities Board met and the finalists were asked to appear to answer questions. Jim Danielson and I answered questions from the Board about trail connections, parking and density. Dennis Sutliff from ESG architects and Kari Gill from the CDA were also there. Special thanks to Council members Krebsbach, Schneeman and Vitelli for attending. The Board was impressed by the Council attendance and commented on the wonderful show of support from the Council. The grant awards will be th announced on October 30. Final Thought “I am not afraid....I was born to do this”--- Joan of Arc Respectfully Submitted Cari Lindberg Administrator Attachments: Pipeline, Planning Commission agenda,Pre-Application Meeting Synopsis, Star Tribune articles “As suburbs grow, Dakota County votes to save open space,” and “Japanese Garden: peace and perseverance,” Proposed Dakota County Tax Rates, Handout “Dakota County government departments located at the new Northern Service Center, One Mendota Road, in West. St. Paul,” and AMM news.