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2015-05-01 Friday News May 1, 2015 City of Mendota Heights Weekly Update DATES TO REMEMBER: Mendota Heights Spring Clean-Up Day Saturday, May 2 May 2 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Spring Clean-up Day 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. May 5 City Council 7:00 p.m. - May 12 City Council Workshop 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Parks Commission 6:30 p.m. Welcome New City Staff Airport Commission Joint mtg w/Eagan 7:00 p.m. June 6 5K Run/Walk Event 9:00 a.m. Park Celebration 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. 2015 Citizens Police Academy Pipeline, Just the Facts - - - 2015 Parks Celebration - The Pipeline N E W S L E T T E R May 1, 2015 Public Works Engineering Public Works The Parks Crew fertilized and put down crabgrass preventer at all the parks. The fields were dragged, lines painted and chalked at Mendokota Park for the beginning of the adult softball leagues and local school games. The soccer fields at Mendakota Park and Kensington Park were laid out and painted. Grass was mowed in all the parks. The drinking fountain was and bur lapped tree was picked up and plated at Mendakota Park. A new bathroom fan motor was installed in the Kensington bathroom. The Utilities Crew checked the lift stations daily. Lift station wet wells were cleaned and vacuumed out. Broadleaf weeds were sprayed at City Hall, as well as at Marie, Victoria Highlands, Valley, Wentworth, and Ivy Hills Parks. The Streets Crew finished up mailbox repair. They also put down grass seed and black dirt where there was snow plow damage. A yard was sodded on Knollwood Court. They filled in low spots at City Hall with black dirt and seed. They helped get ready for spring clean-up day. Engineering City Projects (construction year) Highway 13 Trail Connection (2013-2015) The contractor has completed installing retaining walls for the project. Sub-Base grading and gravel base installation is complete. Project completion is expected by late May. Victoria Road Reconstruction & Rolling Green Neighborhood Rehabilitation (2014/2015) Design of the second phase of the project (Marie to Lexington) is complete. Authorization to bid the project was approved at th the April 17 City Council meeting and the project has been posted for bid. th Bid opening will likely be delayed until May 28 due to delays in obtaining th signatures from MnDOT. Construction is expected to begin after June 10. The curb line at the northeast corner of Douglas Road and Victoria will be adjusted along with the second phase of construction. Substantial completion is expected by Labor Day. Ivy Falls Creek Stream Bank Stabilization (2015) Due to the early spring, construction is going on hold until the ground dries out. Construction is anticipated to begin in late July, weather permitting. The June 19, 2014, storm caused the gabions along the stream bank to fail. State disaster relief funds may reimburse up to 75% of the construction cost. Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation (2015) The City rehabilitates (lines) sections of sanitary sewer each year to prevent Inflow and Infiltration from ground water and storm water into our sanitary sewer. th for bid with a bid opening scheduled for May 13. Areas to be lined are t. Lining sanitary sewer lines helps keep our flow contribution to the Met Council treatment plants as low as possible. Bid award is anticipated for early May th with construction during the summer, and completion by September 30. County Projects Highway 110 Trail Underpass (2017) The County is proposing to construct a grade-separated pedestrian crossing of Highway 110 for the future construction of the Mendota-Lebanon Hills Greenway Trail. This crossing could be a tunnel (culvert) under the highway, or a bridge over the highway. Dakota County has received a $1,000,000 grant from the Metropolitan Council for construction of a tunnel, with a corresponding County match of $200,000. Public open houses are anticipated this fall as part of the project development. If approved, the project would be River to River Greenway (2014/2015) Landscape restoration along Warrior Drive and Marie Avenue is virtually complete. Charlton Avenue in West Saint Paul is closed for the installation of the trail underpass tunnel. The Greenway (formerly known as the North Urban Regional Trail) was realigned last summer, adding a new segment on the east side of Warrior Drive connecting Mendota Road to Marie Avenue. State Projects Maps of 2015 MnDOT projects can be found at: ŷƷƷƦƭʹΉΉǞǞǞ͵ŭƚƚŭƌĻ͵ĭƚƒΉƒğƦƭΉķΉĻķźƷͪŷƌўĻƓεğǒƷŷǒƭĻƩўЉεƒźķўǩĻЎΗАķǞW…ǒЉБ͵ƉWtbВ5—ЏĬЉƒv ΛĭƚƓƭƷƩǒĭƷźƚƓΜ ŷƷƷƦƭʹΉΉǞǞǞ͵ŭƚƚŭƌĻ͵ĭƚƒΉƒğƦƭΉķΉĻķźƷͪƒźķўǩwǒŅƉb9bCВА—͵ƉtБЋ—a\[ΏƆta ΛƒğźƓƷĻƓğƓĭĻΜ nd Highway 13 Reconstruction (I-35E to 2 Street) This project is being advertised for bid. Construction is expected to begin in early June with substantial completion expected by the end of September. The project will rebuild the road way with curb, gutter, and storm sewer in most places along the route. Through traffic detours will be in place throughout the project, but access to businesses and residences will be maintained. The City of Mendota Heights will be contributing a small share of the cost for a Lilydale sponsored, coinciding project to re-route drainage down the bluff to minimize erosion. For more information on the MnDOT project, contact Kirsten Klein, Public Affairs Metro District at: kirsten.klein@state.mn.us, or 651-234-7506. Contact the City Engineering Department for questions on Highway 149 (Dodd Road) Rehabilitation (2017) Staff continued discussions with MnDOT representatives on design aspects of the project. The project will complete a pavement replacement on Dodd Road from I- th 494 to West 7 Street in Saint Paul, including a deck replacement on the High Bridge in Saint Paul. Also included in the project will be a rehabilitation of the City trail from Mendakota Drive to Maple Street and the construction of a new City trail from Maple Street to Marie Avenue. Freemont Culvert Staff met with MnDOT and City of Saint Paul representatives to discuss bluff erosion taking place from a drainage culvert at Highway 13 and Freemont Avenue. MnDOT is working on plans to reroute the drainage to eliminate the erosion. The City will need to provide concurrence on the plans as the area is within our jurisdiction. Highways 149, 55, & 13 Signal Timing MnDOT will be implementing 6 new signal coordination timing plans on Highway 55 from Highway 13 to Argenta Trail, Highway 149 (Dodd Road) from Mendota Heights Rd to Lone Oak Pkwy, and on Dodd from Yankee Doodle Rd to Wescott Rd in Eagan. This will also include Highway 13 from Mendota Heights Rd to Highway 55. There will also be changes to the Flashing Yellow Arrow (FYA) signal operation where the FYA indication will be active during the midday and overnight hours on TH 149, and overnight hours on TH 55. Any concerns or issues can be addressed to the City Engineering Department and we will be happy to forward them to MnDOT. Other Activities Chloride Extravaganza Staff attended a seminar hosted by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) on the potential to reduce the amount of chlorides (salt) that is getting into our lakes and rivers. The biggest influencer on these salt levels is deicing salt used for streets, sidewalks, trails, and parking lots. MPCA is proposing a metro-wide chloride management plan, which will establish a goal for chloride reduction at its source. More information will coming on this topic, so stay tuned! MN2050 Upcoming airtimes on TPT for the MN2050 documentary, State of Repair Liquid Assets are Tuesday, May 25 at 5:30am, 11:30am, 5:30pm, and 11:30pm. This is one in a series of three documentaries MN2050 produces in cooperation with TPT, and it outlines the importance of water, sanitary sewer, and storm sewer utilities to our daily life. All documentaries are available on the TPT webpage (www.tpt.org) and at www.MN2050.org. Frontage Road Meeting with MnDOT Staff met with MnDOT representatives on Friday to discuss funding for Highway 110 and 55 frontage roads that were turned over to the City in 2008. The frontage roads (Mendota Road, Carmen Lane, Victoria Curve, Center Point Curve, Dakota Drive, and Waters Drive) are in poor condition, and mostly ineligible for Municipal State Aid funds. Staff met to discuss potential methods of funding repairs to these streets. The meeting was productive, and MnDOT seemed confident that they would be able to find a way to assist with the frontage roads. Sanitary Sewer/Sump Pump Disconnection Program Staff has run an article in the latest issue of the Heights Highlights about the need to ensure basement sump pumps are disconnected from the sanitary sewer line. This includes sump pumps that discharge into wash tubs in residential basements (a common practice in older homes). Sump pumps must discharge outside the structure to drain overland to a waterbody or storm sewer inlet. Sump pump discharges can also be plumbed directly to the storm sewer in the street. Beginning in 2016, the City plans on implementing an inspection program to ensure compliance with this plumbing code issue. Sumps pumps are believed to be significantly responsible for the increased sanitary sewer flow in 2014, and the corresponding increase in sanitary sewer bills. For more information, please contact the Engineering Department at 651-452-1850. Њ M 1, 2015 AY The latest from the Mendota Heights Police Department CHIEF tƩƚƒ ε DƩğķǒğƚƓ ğƩĻ ĻǣĭźƓŭ ĻǝĻƓƷƭ ŅƚƩ ƷĻĻƓƭ ĬǒƷ ƭĭğƩǤ ŅƚƩ ƦğƩĻƓƷƭͲ źƓ ŅĻğƩ ƚŅ ĭƚƓƭĻƨǒĻƓĭĻƭ ŅƩƚƒ ƦƚƚƩ ĭŷƚźĭĻƭ źƓǝƚƌǝźƓŭ źƓƷƚǣźĭğƚƓ ğƓķ ķƩźǝźƓŭ͵ 5źƭƷƩğĭƷĻķ ķƩźǝźƓŭ źƭ ğ ŭƩƚǞźƓŭ ƦƩƚĬƌĻƒƭ SERGEANTS ĻƭƦĻĭźğƌƌǤ ǞźƷŷ Ʒŷźƭ ŭĻƓĻƩğƚƓ ƚŅ ƷĻĭŷƓƚƌƚŭǤƦƩƚ ŋ ĭźĻƓƷ ƷĻĻƓƭ ğƓķ ĭğƓ ĭƚƒƦƚǒƓķ ƦƚƚƩ ķĻĭźƭźƚƓ ƒğƉźƓŭ źƓƷƚ ƦƚƷĻƓğƌƌǤ ŅğƷğƌ ƩĻƭǒƌƷƭ͵ IĻƌƦ ŅĻğƩƭ ĬǤ ğŭƩĻĻźƓŭ Ʒƚ ƭƚƒĻ ƭğŅĻƷǤ Ĭğƭźĭƭʹ bƚ ĭĻƌƌ ƦŷƚƓĻ ǒƭğŭĻ ǞŷĻƓ ĬĻŷźƓķ ƷŷĻ ǞŷĻĻƌʹ LƷ źƭ źƌƌĻŭğƌ Ʒƚ ƷğƌƉ ƚƓ ğ ĭĻƌƌ ƦŷƚƓĻ ğƓķ ķƩźǝĻ ŅƚƩ ƷŷĻ ŋ ƩƭƷ ЊЋ ƒƚƓƷŷƭ ğĻƩ ŭĻƓŭ ǤƚǒƩ ƌźĭĻƓƭĻ͵ POLICEOFFICERS LŅ Ǥƚǒ ķƩźƓƉͲ ĭğƌƌ ŅƚƩ ğ ƭƚĬĻƩ ƩźķĻʹ 5ƚ ƓƚƷ ƷğƉĻ ğ ĭŷğƓĭĻ ƚƓ ƉźƌƌźƓŭ ǤƚǒƩƭĻƌŅ ƚƩ ƚƷŷĻƩƭ͵ LƓ ğķķź ƚƓ Ʒƚ ƷŷğƷ ƦƚƷĻƓğƌ ŷƚƩƩƚƩͲ źŅ Ǥƚǒ ğƩĻ ǒƓķĻƩ ЋЊ Ǥƚǒ ĭğƓ ŭĻƷ ğ 5…L ǞźƷŷ ğƓǤ ğƒƚǒƓƷ ƚŅ ğƌĭƚŷƚƌ źƓ ǤƚǒƩ ƭǤƭƷĻƒͲ ƌƚƭĻ ǤƚǒƩ ƌźĭĻƓƭĻ ŅƚƩ ЌЉ Ʒƚ ЊБЉ ķğǤƭͲ ƦğǤ ğ υАЉЉ ŋ ƓĻ ğƓķ ƭƦĻƓķ ВЉ ķğǤƭ źƓ Ɔğźƌ͵ ŷƦƭʹΉΉķƦƭ͵ƒƓ͵ŭƚǝΉķźǝźƭźƚƓƭΉƚƷƭΉƌğǞƭΉtğŭĻƭΉǒƓķĻƩğŭĻķƩźƓƉźƓŭ͵ğƭƦǣ͵ ağƉĻ źƷ ğ ŭƩĻğƷ ĻƓķ Ʒƚ ǤƚǒƩ ƭĭŷƚƚƌ ǤĻğƩͲ ĬĻ ƭğŅĻͧ Steven INVESTIGATIONS SCHOOLRESOURCE OFFICER Historic Pilot Knob Site MendotaHeightsisknownforitsbeaufulvistasandinteresngscenery.Oneofthebest SUPPORTSTAFF keptsecretsofourcommunityislocatedattheendofPilotKnob,nearAcaciaCemetery. Thereyouwill ŋ ndwindingpaths,restoredprairiegrasslandsandaMendokowatan MeditaonCircle.Itismeantforpeopleofallagestoenjoyduringthedayandtakeinthe beaufulviewoftheMendotaBridge,FortSnellingandtheInternaonalAirport. Unfortunatelyitseems,localteenshavefoundthisspotandclaimeditfortheirown.Alltoo RESERVES oenpoliceocers ŋ ndlargegroupsofkidshavingbon ŋ resintheMeditaonCircleand drinkingunderageatnight.Notonlydolocalkidspartake,butkidsfromallaroundthe metrotravelheretoparty.Thisraisessomeveryseriousissues. Herearejusttwoofthecityordinancesthatapplytothisarea. CHAPLAINS Historic Pilot Knob Site 726:OPENBURNING 845:RULESOFCONDUCT Anyonefoundintheparkbetweenthehoursof10pmand 6ammaybecitedand/orjailed.Pleasebediligentwhen talkingtoyourkidsaboutthedangersofdrinkingandopen ŋ res(especiallyinanareasurroundedbydryprairiegrasses)! \[ĻƷ͸ƭkeepourcommunityandourkidssafefromharm. Њ Ћ Theft Tuesday 10:05 hours Officer Bobby Lambert responded to a home on a suspicion call. The reporting party stated that the resident was stealing electricity by tying an extension cord from their home to the Xcel Energy owned power line. The RP stated they witnessed the homeowner the prior week, using an extension ladder to hook the power up to their cord. Lambert did observe the extension cord running to the home yet was unable to make contact with the homeowner. Case pending. Assault Tuesday 10:35 hours Officer John Larrive was dispatched to Friendly Hills Middle School on an assault call. It was reported that the juvenile victim had been struck by a car jack from a fellow student in class. Larrive went directly to the nurses office to check on the status of the victim. He could visibly see blood on his floor as well as his shirt, redness around the eye and cheek and a small laceration on his scalp. He stated that the student followed him into the class room, punched him a few times then hit him in the head with a car jack. Larrive then made contact with the suspect who stated that earlier in the day at the bus stop, he and the victim had a verbal altercation. The victim was allegedly calling him names and making fun of him, calling him a peanut head, resulting in his actions. The juvenile suspect was then transported to Dakota County Jail on assault charges. TheftÏTires #1 Thursday 07:41 hours Officer John Larrive was dispatched to a home on a theft report. Upon arrival, he was met by the homeowner who stated that when he went out to his vehicle in the morning, he discovered all four wheels had been stolen from his 2015 Chevrolet Suburban. His vehicle had been parked on his driveway and the theft had to have occurred sometime after 9:00pm the previous night. The vehicle was left jacked up and on landscape blocks. Ordinance Violation Thursday 08:47 hours Officer John Larrive received a call that someone was cutting down trees without a permit and they were landing on the city street. Larrive arrived and spoke with the male who stated he was the owner of the tree business. He stated that he was advised by the homeowner that the trees were on the homeowners property. Larrive asked the tree service owner if he was familiar with city of right of ways or easements in which he stated he was. Larrive looked up the Dakota County property records, located the trees in question and determined they were clearly on city property. Case status pending. Mental Health Thursday 22:32 hours Dispatch advised Officer Jeff VonFeldt that an adult female stated she wanted to kill herself and then left her home. Officer Shepard was able to locate the female. He found her walking out into traffic so he sat her down on the curb. The woman was crying and said she was hearing voices, seeing dead people and wanted to kill herself. Health East arrived a short time later and she was transported to the hospital on a Health & Wel- fare Hold. Theft Friday 16:45 hours Officer John Larrive was dispatched to the local Holiday Gas Station on a gas drive off report. Dispatch aired that the vehicle had fled towards Mendota. Officer Bobby Lambert stopped the vehicle and the male driver ran. He then called for WSPPD to assist in finding the male. There were two other occupants in the vehicle that Lambert made contact with. The vehicle was towed and a call was made to the registered owner notifying her of the incident. She stated she had borrowed her car to a male she had just met and told Lambert his name. The gas station was unable to provide video of the incident. The male was never found. Ћ Ќ Theft Saturday 16:38 hours Officer Mike Shepard was dispatched to a home on a theft report. Upon arrival, he was met by the homeowner who advised that at sometime around 1:00am, he heard what sounded like a truck with loud exhaust in front of his house. As he went out to observe the vehicle, he said it was occupied by two white males who looked at him, accelerated, and then sped off through a stop sign. Later in the afternoon, he noticed the rear doors to his work truck were open and tools had been stolen. No suspects at this time. DWI Sunday 01:27 hours While on routine patrol, Officer Peyton Fleming observed a vehicle pass him at a high rate of speed. Fleming followed the vehicle and noticed it swerve several times almost hitting a concrete wall. Fleming pulled the vehicle over, made contact with the driver and immediately could smell a strong odor of alcohol, bloodshot eyes and slurred speech. The driver stated he had four beers. The driver was asked to perform field sobriety tests in which he failed. He also took a PBT which revealed a .232 BAC. The vehicle was towed and the driver was placed under arrest and transported to Dakota County Jail. TheftÏTires #2 Sunday 11:11 hours Officer John Larrive was asked to call a homeowner on a theft report. He made contact with the homeowner who stated that when he went out to his vehicle in the morning, he discovered all four wheels had been stolen from his 2015 GMC Sierra. His vehicle had been parked on his driveway. The man stated that his wife heard some noise around 11:00pm but did not look outside. The vehicle was left jacked up and on landscape blocks. Drug Possession Sunday 13:18 hours While at the Holiday Gas Station for business, Officer John Larrive could smell a strong odor of marijuana coming from a male in the store. Larrive approached the male and asked him if he had been smoking marijuana. He laughed at Larrive and stated he had not; however, had some in his pocket. He pulled out the small baggie and handed it to Larrive. Larrive handcuffed the male and brought him to his squad where he issued him a citation for Possession of a Small Amount of Marijuana and released him. TheftÏTires #3 Monday 07:34 hours Officer Todd Rosse was dispatched to a home on a theft report. Upon arrival, he was met by the homeowner who stated that when he went out to his vehicle in the morning, he discovered all four wheels had been stolen from his 2014 Chevrolet Silverado. His vehicle had been parked on his driveway and the theft had to have occurred sometime between 11:00pm and 5:00am. The vehicle was left jacked up and on landscape blocks. TheftÏTires #4 Monday 09:06 hours Officer Todd Rosse was dispatched to a home on a theft report. Upon arrival, he was met by the homeowner who stated that when he went out to his vehicle in the morning, he discovered all four wheels had been stolen from his 2015 GMC Sierra. His vehicle had been parked on his driveway and the theft had to have occurred sometime between 1:00am and 6:00am. The vehicles passenger side rear door window had been smashed as well as the mounted motion light on the garage exterior. The vehicle was left jacked up and on landscape blocks. Ќ Ѝ 04/2404/302015YTD What should I do if I CallsforService1112,134 get pulled over by a Police Officer? Citations13185 Ʉɣɚɚ ɝɤɓɠ ɏɡ ɡɝɝɜ ɏɡ ɞɝɡɡɗɐɚɓ¹ Warnings16172 usually to the right out of traffic and onto the shoulder if on a highway (unless an officer PoliceReports26340 directs you otherwise). ResponseTimeAverage5.975.25 Leave enough room for the officer to walk up to the Check out the MH Crime Map! passenger side of your car if you are stopped on the shoulder Click below to search your neighborhood: of a highway. https://www.raidsonline.com 1101 Victoria Curve, Mendota Heights, MN 55118 Ʉɣɢ ɧɝɣɠ ɑɏɠ ɗɜ ¼Ʉɏɠə½ ɏɜɒ ɐɓ sure to turn off your radio. Turn on the interior light if being stopped at night. Always stay in the vehicle unless directed otherwise by IfyouareaMendotaHeightsresidentandyouare the officer. NEVER make a goingoutoftownoronvacation move to get out of the vehicle on your own. Roll down your window. Keep both hands where the ɝɔɔɗɑɓɠ ɑɏɜ ɡɓɓ ɢɖɓɛ¹ preferably on the steering wheel. Do not look in your glove compartment, coat pocket or other place inside the vehicle until directed to do so CarSeatSafetyChecks by the officer. Be prepared to provide the ɝɔɔɗɑɓɠ ɥɗɢɖ ɧɝɣɠ ɒɠɗɤɓɠ»ɡ license, the registration for the vehicle you are driving and proof of insurance. Please send us your positive MedicationDisposalBox feedback on our staff to: pdrecords@ mendota-heights.com Your feedback is greatly appreciated and helps boost the morale of our staff. Ѝ HAVE A SAFE WEEK!