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2003-07-18 Friday News The Friday News July 18, 2003 Council Approves Roger’s Lake Enhancement Project Mr. Clifford Timm has approached the City Council and Park and Recreation Commission to request improvements at Roger’s Lake that would enhance the survivability of fish, during the winter, in the section of the lake north of Wagon Wheel Trail. In June, the City Council directed staff to gather information and present options to the City Council. After meeting with the DNR and Mr. Timm, Parks Project Manager Guy Kullander and Public Works Director Jim Danielson made a recommendation to the City Council to lower the existing lake equalizing cross culvert under Wagon Wheel Trail and to dredge sump pools at the end of each lowered culvert. This new culvert will be installed to meet final MSA standards for Wagon Wheel Trail in the future. The roadbed around the culvert will be widened to accommodate a potential future widened roadway, curb/gutters and trail. The DNR indicated that the widening can only take place on the north side of the road as they do not want the mature trees on the south side of the roadway disturbed. Mr. Clifford Timm has generously offered to donate $50,000 to the project for the fishing enhancements. The remaining cost will be offset by MSA funds. Staff is now proceeding with consultant selection. If the project proceeds on schedule, construction will begin at the end of October and will proceed into December. The majority of the project will be completed in 2003 with final restoration to follow in spring 2004. City Council Amends Alarm Ordinance On Tuesday, the City Council adopted an amendment to Ordinance No. 221, “Regulating Alarms and Alarm Systems.” The Fire Department responds to a high number of false alarm calls every year. These false alarms are usually the result of a system malfunction, steam shower, or a burnt dinner. In 2001, 47% of the Department’s calls were of this nature. In 2002, the number was 48%. At the request of the Fire Chief and Fire Marshall, the City Council amended the Alarm Ordinance to require that prior to calling the Fire Department, the alarm companies must call the residence to find out if there is really a problem. The alarm company must contact the residence as long as it does not delay the reporting by more than 90 seconds. By making this small change, many of the false alarm calls to the Fire Department will be eliminated, thus preventing unnecessary use of the equipment, time and Fire Department resources. The City Council expressed concern that this may delay response time or may be a hazardous delay. Assistant Chief Jim Kilburg assured the Council that this would not prove hazardous to the homeowners. If there is any doubt of whether or not there is a real emergency, the Fire Department will be dispatched immediately. Mendota Mdewakanton Pow Wow The Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Community has been holding their Pow Wow annually at the Church of St. Peter. Chief Aschenbrener met with representatives of the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Community st including the Chairman Bob Brown and discussed the event. They will begin setting up on July 31 and the st Pow Wow will begin on Friday August 1 . They will be providing on site security and will run the event as they have in the past, a traditional Pow Wow. The event will include a ceremonial fire which will burn during the entire Pow Wow. The Fire Chief was notified and did not express any concerns. The fire will occur in the same fire pit they have used in the past. The Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Community will provide portable toilets on site. In the event of over flow parking arrangements have been made with the church. The drums will cease at 2200 hours to comply with the noise restrictions placed on them in the past. The Police Department will monitor the event and work with the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota Community security coordinator to ensure that there are no problems during this event. Firefighter Appointments On Tuesday night, the City Council approved three new recruits to the position of probationary fire fighter. The Fire Department had three openings due to the retirements of Tom Weinzettel, Randy McNamara and Kevin Perron. The three new firefighters are: Steve Abrahamson, Tom Mattaini and Chris Perrault. Steve Abrahamson is a resident of Mendota Heights and will be available most afternoons. Tom Mattaini is a resident of Sunfish Lake and will be available for daytime and evening calls. Chris Perrault is a resident of Mendota Heights and will be available for daytime and evening calls as well. The three new firefighters will now train with the Department during their one-year probationary period. Congratulations and welcome to Steve, Tom, and Chris. Council Approves Participation in Safe and Sober Grant Program During the past year, the Police Department participated in the Safe and Sober campaign which is sponsored by the State DPS Office of Traffic Safety and funded with state and federal grant funds. The program allows agencies to participate for three years. We have historically conducted these efforts with the City of West St. Paul. On Tuesday, the City Council once again approved participation. This program will run from October 1, 2003 through September 30, 2004 and will involve four waves of concentrated traffic enforcement and education activities. Budget Meetings Underway Department Head budget meetings are underway. As you know, we have a unique challenge for 2004 Mendota Heights will lose all of its LGA in perpetuity beginning in the current budget year.We will also lose all of our market value homestead credit reimbursement for 2003 and 2004. For Mendota Heights this means a direct reduction in revenues of $224,707 both this year and next year ($13,302 in LGA and $211,405 in MVHC). In addition to the aid reduction and “taking” of $224,707 of the city’s levy by the state, the bill greatly impairs the city’s ability to recapture the loss through tax levy. The city is only allowed to replace 60% of the lost funding in the 2004 levy certification. Cities are also restricted from making inflation and growth adjustments, and those cities that did not levy to the full levy authority for 2003 lose all unused levy authority. The governor’s proposal would have included debt levies within the city’s levy limit. The final bill excluded debt levies from the levy limit.I have directed everyone to keep budget increases to a minimum and look for ways to reduce line items if at all possible. Unless there are loopholes in the law that will allow a levy increase, we will be restricted to a 2004 general fund levy that will be equal to the 2003 levy plus $134,824 (60% of $224,707). For 2004 we will have the loss of aid covered by the authorized levy increase of $134,824 plus the $90,000 unallotment amount in the 2003 budget. There is no question that this is a challenge, but I am confident that we will come up with a reasonable and responsible budget for 2004. Officer Lee Flandrich In the News Please see the attached Pioneer Press article “Ford Fans: Building brand loyalty for 100 years.” It seems that Mendota Heights Officer Lee Flandrich is a Ford fanatic. (He knows the exact date AND TIME that received his Ford Thunderbird.) Final Thought “The real measure of your worth is how much you’d be worth if you lost all of your money.” - Anonymous Respectfully Submitted Cari Lindberg Administrator Attachments: Just the Facts, Pre Application Meeting Synopsis, Planning Commission agenda, Pioneer Press article “Ford fans: Building brand loyalty for 100 years,” Southwest Review article “Pilot Knob proposed for National Register,” Sun Current Article “Rogers improvements get green light from Mendota Heights”, AMM News.