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2015-07-31 Friday News July 31, 2015 City of Mendota Heights Weekly Update DATES TO REMEMBER: Par 3 Junior Golf August 3 Traveling Parks Program Marie Park 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Friendly Hills 12:30 p.m.- 1:30 p.m. August 4 Night to Unite City Council 8:00 p.m. August 5 Traveling Parks Program Kensington Park 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. August 4 City Council Meeting Wentworth Park 12:30 p.m.- 1:30 p.m. Music in the Park Market Square TreVeld 6:30 p.m. Did you know... August 7 Traveling Parks Program Rogers Lake Park 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Mendota Heights Police Reserve Program Pipeline, Just the Facts - - The Pipeline N E W S L E T T E R Public Works July 31, 2015 Engineering Public Works The Parks Crew picked up trash in the parks daily. They mowed, dragged, striped, and chalked fields. They also aerated, top dressed, over seeded and fertilized the soccer fields. Dirt was hauled in and then graded in South Valley Park along the pedway. They assisted in setting up for the Officer Scott Patrick remembrance. New trash barrels were picked up. The Utilities Crew checked the lift stations daily. Sanitary sewer lines were cleaned on Chippewa Avenue, Diego Lane, Simard Street, and Miriam Street. Fire hydrants were painted on Chippewa Avenue. The Streets Crew cleaned storm grates in the city. They saw cut the manhole on Centre Pointe and Hunter Lane, pulled out the blacktop, filled it with class 5 gravel, compacted the gravel, and blacktopped the area. They filled pot holes on Centre Pointe and Highway 110 Frontage Road. The two city owned lots in the village were mowed. They helped the Parks Crew put soccer nets together. Dirt was put down in the tree stump holes in Valley attempted to fix a broken curb on Maple Park Drive but ground water was found and engineering is monitoring the situation. Engineering City Projects (construction year) New Information in Italics Victoria Road Reconstruction & Rolling Green Neighborhood Rehabilitation (2014/2015) The first portion of the project has the street completed through base course installation. The second portion of the project has begun. Paved access to Mendota Elementary is open from Lexington Avenue. Trail construction and landscaping on the first portion are nearly complete. Once the second portion is complete, the surface layer of asphalt will be placed over the entire roadway. Substantial completion of the entire project will be met by early October. Annual Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation (2015) Areas to be lined under this contract is Huber Drive from Bent Tree to Cheyenne, Mendota Heights Road from Pilot Knob Road to the lift station, and Rogers Lake Park area. The first 2000 feet of the interceptor line, from Highway 55 to Lexington, will also be lined. Project Completion is expected by the end of November. Mendota Road Neighborhood Improvements (2016) Project will consist of reconstructing Mendota Road (Hwy 110 Frontage Road) from Delaware Avenue to Oak Street, and rehabilitating Warrior Drive, High Ridge Circle, and Sibley Court. ISD197 will be a financial contributor to the project. Staff sent out 16 surveys to property owners along the reconstruction portion of the project (Mendota Road). We have received 10 surveys back. Results of the survey will be presented as part of the Feasibility Report, which is expected to be complete by August. If the project advances, neighborhood meetings and a Public Hearing before City Council would be held this fall (October/November). County Projects New Information in Italics Highway 110 Greenway Trail Crossing (2017) Staff met with County and MnDOT staff on Wednesday to go over project status. The consultant has come up with two alignment options and three crossing options. The utility location and survey, along with the wetland delineation will take place in early August. An update will be presented to City Council at their nd September 22 meeting. If approved, the project would be constructed will provide regular updates at upcoming City Council meetings. State Projects New Information in Italics Maps of 2015 MnDOT projects can be found at: ŷƷƷƦƭʹΉΉǞǞǞ͵ŭƚƚŭƌĻ͵ĭƚƒΉƒğƦƭΉķΉĻķźƷͪŷƌўĻƓεğǒƷŷǒƭĻƩўЉεƒźķўǩĻЎΗАķǞWǒЉБ͵ƉWtbВ5ЏĬЉƒv ΛĭƚƓƭƷƩǒĭƷźƚƓΜ ŷƷƷƦƭʹΉΉǞǞǞ͵ŭƚƚŭƌĻ͵ĭƚƒΉƒğƦƭΉķΉĻķźƷͪƒźķўǩwǒŅƉb9bCВА͵ƉtБЋa\[ΏƆta ΛƒğźƓƷĻƓğƓĭĻΜ nd Highway 13 Reconstruction (I-35E to 2 Street) (2015) Access to residents and businesses between I-35E and Lexington is being maintained, but the highway is still closed to all through traffic between Lexington and nd 2 Street. The City of Lilydale sponsored drainage improvement project is also underway. A temporary signal has been installed to control single lane traffic through the project area between I-35E and Lexington. Work in this area includes the installation of concrete curb and gutter in some locations along the route. Traffic is detoured down 1-35E to Highway 110 and back to Highway 13. The public is being asked to utilize the detours as much as possible to help ensure the safety of construction workers. For more information, contact Kirsten Klein, Public Affairs Metro District at: kirsten.klein@state.mn.us, or 651-234-7506. The project website is: http://www.dot.state.mn.us/metro/projects/hwy13mendota/. Substantial nd completion is expected by August 22. Highway 149 (Dodd Road) Rehabilitation (2018) This project has slipped 2018. The project will replace the pavement surface of Highway 149 from th I-494 north to West 7 Street in Saint Paul. Also included will be drainage improvement, curb replacement in specified areas, trail rehabilitation from Highway 110 south to Mendakota Park, and new trail construction from Maple Street north to Marie Avenue. The project also included a complete re-decking of the High Bridge in Saint Paul. The City will be contributing costs to the trail improvements, but the rest of the project is funded by MnDOT. There will be a series of open houses hosted by MnDOT beginning on August 24, 2015. This first open house will be held at Bad Weather Brewery, 414 West Seventh Street in St. Paul, from 5:00pm-7:00pm. Additional dates and times will be announced later this summer. All members of the public are welcome to attend. For more information, please contact Kirsten Kline, Public Affairs Metro District at 651-234-7506. Other Activities New Information in Italics City-Wide Tree Survey The City is continuing to inventory all City owned trees in boulevards and in developed portions of City Parks. When complete, the City will have a clearer picture of how many ash trees are on City property and their locations. The survey is in response to the confirmation that the Emerald Ash Borer has arrived in Mendota Heights. Once the tree survey is complete, the City will be developing a policy on how to deal with City owned ash trees. Њ JULY 31, 2015 The latest from the Mendota Heights Police Department CHIEF KEEPING THE GRASS SAFE SERGEANTS Take a deep breath. Smell that? Fresh cut grass. Who doesn’t love the smell of fresh cut grass mixed with the warm weather and who can forget the fun we had as kids riding with dad or grandpa on the riding lawn tractor? POLICEOFFICERS While all those sound like great fun, one of them can have some very dire consequences: children riding on the lawn tractor. Lawn mowers and tractors are very useful and dangerous tools. According to http://www.childrenswishingwell.org/10- Steven , lawn-mower-safety-tips/nearly 9,000 children across the country are taken to the emergency room as a result of lawn mower accidents. Approximately ¼ of those children injured are under the age of five. The police department responds to such accidents, which rarely result in minor but rather, life-changing injuries. The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry takes this risk seriously enough INVESTIGATIONS they have enacted laws surrounding the subject; “Children under the age of 16 are prohibited from operating power-driven snow-blowers, lawn-mowers and garden SCHOOLRESOURCE equipment (http://www.dli.mn.gov/LS/ProhibWork16.asp). Children’s Hospital OFFICER experts and The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that no children under the age of twelve even operate a walk-behind mower (http:// SUPPORTSTAFF www.childrenswishingwell.org/10-lawn-mower-safety-tips/). Here are some tips to keep everyone safe while you keep your lawn looking good: No children riding on the lawn tractor. RESERVES Teach children not to run up to the mower or lawn tractor while it is in use. Clear the yard of debris that may go airborne if struck by mower blades. Keep others at a safe distance from the mower while cutting CHAPLAINS Double check behind you before you back that lawn tractor up, small children are easily run over without notice Stay safe, get outside and make the most of every moment spent with family and f riends this summer! Њ Ћ Theft of Gas Sunday 00:12 hours Officers Steve Hilyar and Denise Urmann were dispatched to the gas station on a report of a theft of gasoline that had just occurred. The license plate given by the sales clerk did not match the description of the vehicle also given by the sales clerk. Due to the description of the registered vehicle not matching the description of the suspect vehicle that was provided, there will be no further investigation. Assault Sunday 01:18 hours Officers Denise Urmann and Steve Hilyar were called to a local bar to investigate a fight between two female patrons that had occurred at the bar just minutes earlier. Two bachelorette parties were dancing on the floor and not getting along. One female hit another female and a fight ensued. Two women were cited for Disor- derly ConductÏ Brawling or Fighting. Since multiple individuals were involved charges are pending for the other women after a review of the surveillance footage. Theft from Vehicle Sunday 12:07 hours Officer Todd Rosse took a report over the phone of an after the fact theft from vehicle. The homeowner stated that sometime in the evening hours suspect/s entered both unlocked vehicles parked in their residence driveway. Latent fingerprints were taken and this case is currently under investigation. Theft of Gas Monday 10:17 hours Officer Todd Rosse responded to a theft of gas report. The sales clerk stated he thought it might have been an accidental drive-off but the patron never returned to pay. A letter was sent to the registered owner of the vehicle. Case is pending a response from the vehicle owner. Identity Theft Monday 13:30 hours Officer Jennifer Fordham responded to a residential address to meet with a party whose husband had been a victim of identity theft. An unknown individual had filed 2014 taxes in the victimÓs name and had also used a credit card to make fraudulent purchases. There is no suspect information at this time. Fraud Tuesday 09:18 hours Officer Todd Rosse spoke with a party via phone regarding a fraud report. The victim had her debit card used to make several purchases in the area. The card is still in her possession. Case pending investigation. Found Property Tuesday 13:25 hours Officer Todd Rosse was dispatched concerning some property left behind by a young male. Officer Rosse lo- cated the address of the vehicle and spoke with the male party. He stated he recently had some items stolen and went to look for them. He stated that when he saw the items he stopped his vehicle to see if they be- longed to him. When they werenÓt his he left them there. The witness must have seen him discard the cloth- ing on the ground. Ћ Ќ 07/2407/302015YTD Repeat Oenders of State CallsforService852755 Texng Law Face Higher Fine Starng August 1. Citations10339 Drivers who repeatedly Warnings11439 choose texng over safety while behind the PoliceReports17638 wheel risk a higher ŋ ne for violang the law be- ResponseTimeAverage5.695.34 ginning Saturday. Check out the MH Crime Map! Under the enhanced law Click below to search your neighborhood: drivers face a $225 ŋ ne https://www.raidsonline.com 1101 Victoria Curve, Mendota Heights, MN 55118 for second and subse- quent violaons of the texng while driving law, in addion to the current $50 ŋ ne. In Minnesota it is illegal IfyouareaMendotaHeightsresidentandyouare for drivers to read, com- pose or send texts and goingoutoftownoronvacation emails, and access the web while the vehicle is in moon or part of trac. That includes sing at a stoplight or stop sign. It is illegal for drivers with a permit or ƦƩƚǝźƭźƚƓğƌ ķƩźǝĻƩ͸ƭ ƌźΏ cense to use a cell phone while driving, except for CarSeatSafetyChecks emergencies to call 911. 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. Ќ HAVE A SAFE WEEK! Ѝ Ѝ