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2015-11-06 Friday NewsCity of Mendota Heights Weekly Update Mendota Heights City Hall 1101 Victoria Curve www.mendota-heights.com (651) 452.1850 Visit us on: Facebook.com/ MendotaHeightsMN Twitter.com/ @Mendota_heights DATES TO REMEMBER: November 10 Parks Commission 6:30 p.m. Airport Commission 7:00 p.m. November 11 Veterans Day City Hall will be closed November 13 MH Fire Department 67th Annual Dance 8:00 p.m. November 17 City Council 7:00 p.m. November 24 Planning Commission 7:00 p.m. November 26 –27 Thanksgiving Holiday City offices will re-open on Monday, November 30th at 8:00 a.m. Attachments: Pipeline Just the Facts will return next week. November 6, 2015 City Seeks to Fill Commission Vacancies The Planning Commission is accepting applications to fill a vacancy starting February 2016. The Planning Commission meets once a month to review requests such as wetland permits, conditional use permits and development plans for residential and commercial properties. Meetings are held on the fourth Tuesday of every month beginning at 7:00 p.m. The Parks and Recreation Commission is accepting applications to fill an unexpired term starting February 2016. The Parks and Recreation Commission advises the City Council on matters pertaining to parks and recreation programs. Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of every month beginning at 6:30 p.m. The Parks and Recreation Commission is also accepting applications for a student representative to serve in an advisory capacity. A student representative must be a Mendota Heights resident attending one of the three high schools located in the city, preferable a sophomore or junior. The student representative will serve as a communication link for ideas, observation, concerns, satisfactions and questions to the commission. This one year term begins February 2016. If you, or someone you know, is interested in serving, feel free to contact the City Administrator Mark McNeill or Assistant to the City Administrator Tamara Schutta by calling 651.452.1850. Interested parties should submit a letter of interest and a current resume to Mark McNeill no later than Monday, December 28, 2015. 2015 Par 3 Season The Par 3 will be open through Monday, November 9th. So, invite a friend for one more round of golf this weekend. Thank you to all our customers, league players and program participants for another great year. Mendota Heights Firefighters Dance The 67th Annual Firefighters Dance will be held next Friday, November 13th at Mall of America Hilton, 3800 American Blvd East, Bloomington. Music will be provided by High and Mighty. Advance tickets can be purchased Monday through Friday at City Hall for $12.00 or 2 for $20.00 or $15 at the door. Come out for an evening of fun, music and dancing. Public Works Parks Crew cut grass and picked up trash daily throughout the parks. Leaves were mulched in the parks. Ground restoration work was done around the warming house at Marie Park. Dirt, gravel, and grass seed was put down. Broken boards were replaced on the Valley Park Bridge. Rip rap was put down around the stream in Valley Park along the creek to prevent erosion into the ballfield. Generator repair work was done at the fire hall. The Utilities Crew checked the lift station daily. Grease was cleaned off the floats at the Veronica lift station. Leaves were mulched at the Veronica lift station. Parks Crew was assisted with mulching leaves at City Hall and the Fire Hall. Worked with the contractor on televising the sanitary sewer lines in the 2015 project area. This work is anticipated to be on-going for the next few weeks. The Streets Crew helped out the Fire Department on Sunday with putting out the bonfire. The ashes were dug out, set for a day to dry out, and then hauled to SKB Landfill. They hauled 10 loads of rip rap to Valley Park for the Parks Crew to use for the erosion control project. They also hauled the black dirt to Marie Park for the restoration work around the Marie Park warming house. They assisted the Parks Crew with trash pickup in the parks. Black dirt was picked up in Rosemount and brought back to the shop. Marker posts were put on corners for the snow plow drivers. Engineering City Projects (construction year) New Information in Italics Victoria Road Reconstruction & Rolling Green Neighborhood Rehabilitation (2014/2015) – The first layer of pavement is down, and the contractor is now working on finishing the trail and grading/landscaping behind the curb. Utility relocation has been completed for the trail installation and the curb adjustment at Victoria and Douglas. Assessed property owners can pay their assessment, in full or partially, at City Hall until November 20th. After that time the assessments will be sent to Dakota County. Annual Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation (2015) – The contractor has completed the initial sewer cleaning phase. Lining has begun. Areas to be The Pipeline N E W S L E T T E R Public Works Engineering November 6, 2015 lined include 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) – City staff is working on concept design elements based on comments received from area residents. Staff is continuing to discuss the project with area residents on individual bases. A preliminary layout will be presented at the Public Hearing for City Council consideration. The formal Public Hearing is set for November 17th during the regular City Council Meeting at 7:00pm at City Hall. Residents have been asked to complete a survey and were invited to a neighborhood meeting held on September 28th. 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. Ivy Falls Creek Streambank Stabilization (2015) – This project is complete. Reimbursement from the State has been received. County Projects New Information in Italics Highway 110 Greenway Trail Crossing (2017) – Staff met with County and MnDOT staff on Monday to go over the recommended alignment that will be presented to City Council and the County Board. County Staff will be presenting the recommended alignment to the City Council at their November 17th meeting. The type of grade-separated crossing has not been selected yet. County staff has provided a summary of comments received at and since the October 21st open house. While the easternmost alignment seems to be preferred by those who commented, opinion is split between an overpass (bridge) and an underpass (tunnel). The alignment alternatives will be presented to the County Board on December 1st with a preferred alternative selection on December 15th. If approved, the project would be constructed with MnDOT’s rehabilitation project for Highway 110 in 2017. State Projects New Information in Italics Highway 13 Slope Repair (2015) – Although not a MnDOT Driven project, Highway 13 between the Ivy Falls Bridge and Sylvandale Road will be closed through early December (estimated) so slopes can be repaired and reinforced. In June of 2014, bluff slopes in this area failed during a large rain storm. This repair project is intended to restore and stabilize the slope. The posted detour route takes traffic along Dodd Road, Wentworth Avenue and Wachtler Avenue. See the City Web Page for a detour route map. Highway 13 Reconstruction (I-35E to 2nd Street) (2015) – Highway 13 reopened on Wednesday night! All the pavement, guardrails, curbing, and striping are complete. Minor punch-list items remain with the contractor. For more information about the MnDOT project, contact Kirsten Klein, Metro District at: kirsten.klein@state.mn.us, or 651-234-7506, or Kiet Ly, Project Engineer at kiet.t.ly@state.mn.us. The project website is: http://www.dot.state.mn.us/metro/projects/hwy13mendota/. Highway 110 Rehabilitation (2017) – MnDOT will be requesting Local Government Concurrence from Mendota Heights for on this project at a City Council meeting sometime in December. This project will resurface Highway 110 between I-35E and I-494, including drainage improvements. Several access changes are proposed with the project , including changes to accesses across the median as well as closing the right -in/right-out east of Lexington Avenue. MnDOT staff has met with City public safety officials to discuss access changes along the corridor. For more information about this project, contact Molly Cline, MnDOT Project Manager, at 651-234-7723 or molly.cline@state.mn.us. Highway 149 (Dodd Road) Rehabilitation (2018) – This project will replace the pavement surface of Highway 149 from I-494 north to West 7th Street in Saint Paul. The project also includes a complete re-decking of the High Bridge. Also included in the project will be drainage improvements, 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. Adjustments to lane markings along the corridor may also be incorporated to address pedestrian safety issues discussed at the recent public open houses. Staff will be meeting with representatives from MnDOT and Dakota County to discuss potential grant opportunities to extend pedestrian facilities north of Marie Avenue. For more information, please contact Tara McBride, Project Manager at 651-234-7506, or tara.mcbride@state.mn.us. The project web page is: http://www.dot.state.mn.us/metro/projects/hwy149highbridge/index.html Highway 13 (Annapolis Street) Rehabilitation (2018) – MnDOT will be resurfacing Annapolis Street as part of this project. It is intended that this project be constructed in conjunction with the Highway 149 project in 2018. City staff has contacted some adjoining property owners about the possibility of sidewalk being installed on the south side of Annapolis. All responses were against the sidewalk proposal and have been forwarded to MnDOT. For more information, contact Molly Cline, MnDOT Project Manager, at 651-234-7723 or molly.cline@state.mn.us. Other Activities New Information in Italics Future Cities Competition – Staff met with the 2015 Future Cities Competition teams from Friendly Hills Middle School (FHMS) on Thursday. Students completed their project plans and schedules and continue to work through the SimCity development. They have started their slide-show submittal for their Sim City projects, and t hey are continuing their research into ways of reducing, reusing, and recycling solid waste. The competition is open to 6th-8th grade students and involves developing a virtual city using Sim City software, completing a project schedule, a 1500 word essay, scale model, and oral presentation. The State competition will be held at Dunwoody Institute on January 23rd. This year’s theme is, “Waste Not – Want Not,” and will focus on how the cities of the future handle municipal and solid waste. This is the seventh year Mendota Heights’ Engineering staff has assisted FHMS with the program. FHMS will be sending three teams to the State Competition in January. Saint Paul Regional Water Service (SPRWS) Water Service Agreement – Staff is scheduling several approvals that will need to take place in conjunction with the approval of the new agreement with SPRWS. It is anticipated that all approvals will be complete by June 2016. These include: 1) A Lease Agreement for cell tower use and City storage at the water tower site – anticipated at the November 17th City Council meeting; 2) An easement agreement(s) for SPRWS access to the water tower and water mains not located within City Right-of-Way; 3) Conveyance of deed, title, and ownership of the system; 4) An amended City Ordinance to reflect the new agreement; 5) An amended Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) with the other municipal partner agencies (West Saint Paul, Maplewood, Falcon Heights, Lauderdale) to gain a second seat on the Board of Commissioners. Energy Savings Program – Staff met with a vendor on Tuesday to talk about electrical consumption at City facilities and ways we may be able to reduce our electric bills. Staff will be providing the vendor information so they can make a proposal to the City Administrator.