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2010-12-03 Friday NewsFrmida News Mendota Heights Weekly Report on City Activities December 3, 2010 Wagon Wheel Trail Public Hearing The City Council will continue the public hearing on the proposed Wagon Wheel Trail Neighborhood Improvement Project at their meeting on Tuesday, December 7, 2010. The first part of the public hearing was held at the November 16, 2010 city council meeting and continued to this meeting due to the absence of two members. The city council will decide on whether they want to approve the project as proposed by city staff and/or make any changes to the project. The proposed project includes reconstruction and rehabilitation of streets in the neighborhood, adding a parking lane on Wagon Wheel Trail and installing a path on the north side of Wagon Wheel Trail as well. The public hearing will continue at the city council meeting on Tuesday, December 7, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall. The public is invited to attend or the meeting can be viewed online or on TV. Holiday Tree Lighting Events There are two holiday tree lighting events this week that everyone is invited to attend. The Mendota Plaza hosted their first annual holiday lighting event on Thursday, December 2, 2010. The Village at Mendota Heights will hold their annual event on Saturday, December 4, 2010 between 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., with the actual tree lighting at 6:00 p.m. There are events planned throughout the day at the Village. Please take the time to support our Mendota Heights businesses and catch up with your neighbors! Foreclosures Impact County Foreclosures continue to have an impact on all cities in Dakota County. Through October of this year there were 1,841 sheriff sales countywide. This compares to a total of 1,860 in the county for all of 2009. There have also been 3,224 notice of pendency filings through October of this year. There were 3,886 notices for all of last year. The numbers for the remainder of 2010 will be skewed because of one of the major lenders in the nation putting a freeze on sheriff sales in order to review their process. Mendota Heights has had 14 sheriff sales to date, up one from the total of 13 for 2010. In addition, we have had 32 pending notices through October compared to 48 for all of 2009. City staff continues to track this issue and the impact on the city. Mendota Heights City Hall 1101 Victoria Curve www.mendota-heights.com 11 (651) 452-1850 December 3, 2010 Page Two December 3, 2010 2011 Budget The City Council will consider adoption of the 2011 budget at their meeting on December 7, 2010. The proposed budget is 0.3% higher than the 2010 budget. The proposed 2011 tax levy is 0.86% lower than the 2010 tax levy. The tax levy is the amount of money we collect from tax payers each year. The primary reason for the reduced tax levy in 2011 is the payoff of two park bonds that were approved by city voters in 1990. The public is allowed an opportunity to share their thoughts on the proposed budget and tax levy prior to the council approving either of them. Public comment will be taken at the city council meeting on Tuesday, December 7, 2010 at City Hall. The 2011 budget is very similar to the 2010 budget due mostly to the state of the economy. If you have questions on the proposed budget or tax levy please feel free to contact David McKnight at City Hall. Patch.com Debuts A new Mendota Heights news website made its public debut this week. The Mendota Heights Patch site includes a wide variety of information on the city, local government happenings and events taking place around town. The site includes sections on news, events, marketplace and more. You can also sign up to get the Mendota Heights Patch news delivered directly to your email. Please check out this new site when you have time. The website address is mendotaheights.patch. com. If you have questions or recommendations for the site you can email the local editor right on the web page. Welcome to Mendota Heights Patch.com! Dates to Remember, r December 7, 2010 7:00 pm City Council Meeting December 21, 2010 5:00 p.m. Thank You Reception for John Huber and Mary Jeanne Schneeman December 21, 2010 7:00 p.m. City Council Meeting December 24, 2010 City Offices Closed December Parks and Recreation Commission meeting cancelled December Airport Relations Commission meeting cancelled m MAIAAI, Attachments The Pipeline, Just the Facts, Docember 3, 2010 NEWS LETTER the Pipeline Public Works U I Engineering Code Enforcement December 3, 2010 Public Works The Parks Crew is busy preparing the skating rinks for flooding. Pedways and parking lots were cleaned of snow. Low hanging limbs on the pedways were trimmed on Victoria Curve and Marie Avenue. Rich changed the pump guide rails at the Centre Pointe lift station. He did an inspection repair to service at 1005 Marie Avenue. He cleaned the sewer line on Dodd Road near the Par 3. He helped plow the city streets. The Streets Crew salted all city streets during the freezing rain storm. Lexington Avenue at Douglas Road was closed until the city salted the road for the county. Rich helped the fire department on the 35E ramp by salting the road and Andy helped the fire department on Highway 110 by salting the road because of a four car pileup. Salt was piled up in the bin. All plow trucks were washed, steam cleaned, sanders and wings greased, and leaking hydraulic hoses replaced. The no passing sign was replaced on Victoria Road. New street signs and posts were installed at Pondview Drive and Huber Drive. Engineering Highway 55/Mendota Heights Road Intersection - The project has essentially buttoned up for the winter. New curb has been installed and the base course of asphalt is placed. The lighting and signal modifications are completed, and temporary striping has been put on the pavement. The wear course of asphalt and final landscaping and seeding will be completed in the spring.. 2011 Street Reconstruction Project (Wagon Wheel Trail) - The formal Public Hearing before City Council was held on November 16th. The Public Hearing was continued to the December 7th Council meeting due to not having 4 at least 4 Council Members present at the November 16th meeting. Staff held an information neighborhood meeting on the upcoming project on Thursday (10/28) evening at the Holy Family Church, across from City Hall. Roughly 40 residents attended. Concerns from attendees focused on speed and/or volume of traffic, storm water drainage, pedestrian safety, trail construction, stop sign placement, and assessment valuation and payment. Staff is proposing a few minor design options in an attempt to address some of the residents' concerns with the project, and these options will be presented at the December 7t" Council Meeting. Project is proposed to reconstruct Wagon Wheel Trail from Lexington Avenue to Dodd Road, install storm sewer with curb & gutter, and provide for a pedestrian trail along the length of the project. Also proposed are the rehabilitation (mill & overlay) of Alice Lane, Rodgers Court, and Swan Court, along with improvements to Rogers Lake Park. Delaware Reconstruction - Staff met with representatives from Dakota County and Saint Paul Regional Water Services to go over the final design plans for the Delaware Reconstruction project. The project is currently in the Right -of -Way and easement acquisition phase, and construction is on schedule and anticipated for summer of 2011. Engineering Web Site - Staff is working with the Information Technology Department on creating the Engineering Department pages for the City web site. Once complete the Engineering page will have a place for project updates where residents can look up the status of their neighborhood projects. Stormwater management plans and the Street Improvement Plan are also posted on the web page for public review. American Public Works Association (APWA) Conference - Public Works Director Mazzitello attended the annual APWA Fall Conference. New techniques in snow removal, project engineering, and public involvement were main topics at the conference. Future Cities Competition - Public Works Director Mazzitello and Assistant to the City Administrator Jake Sedlacek have been working with students at Friendly Hills Middle School on their projects for entry in the annual Future Cities Competition. The competition is for Middle School students who work in groups to plan the layout and function of a City given a list of rules and parameters provided by the competition staff. Judging for the competition is held each January. Tlie latettr�er-vf frvyn- the iNe�<j'vt� �fei9!its�'vlice �ey�trttneyct Q 12/3/2010 mi The Assist to State Patrol Thursday 0154 hours Mendota While on routine patrol, Officer Todd Rosse encountered a Heights vehicle in the ditch on Hwy 13 just north of Sylvandale Road. The car was unoccupied and a second vehicle had stopped to help. Police The occupants of the vehicle who stopped to help stated they Department saw a male party run from the vehicle. While Officer Rosse was Support speaking to the witnesses, a male emerged from the woods and Staff appeared to be under the influence of alcohol. The State Patrol Kim Henning had been notified of the vehicle off the road and was en route to Sandie Ristine Susan Donovan assist Officer Rosse. The man who came out of the woods was Cathy Ransom identified as the registered owner but refused to admit he had Becky Pentel been driving the vehicle. Case turned over to MN State Patrol. Police Officers Dead Geese Friday 1024 hours Jerry.Murphy Scott Patrick Caller reported 4 dead geese on a pond in their backyard and John Larrive wanted the City to remove them. They were advised the Bobby Lambert complaint would be passed along to public works. Two hours Tanner Spicer later the DCC heard from a second caller demanding to know Todd Rosse when the dead geese would be removed. Sergeant Garlock Chad Willson Jeff VonFeldt advised the caller that City Hall was closed until Monday it would Jennifer Fordham be after that. The caller was also advised that they could remove Denise Urmann the dead geese and place them in the trash. Michael Shepard Home for the Holidays Saturday 1209 hours Peyton Fleming Officer John Larrive and Sgt. Eric Petersen responded to a family School Resource Officer disturbance where one of the adult sons was damaging property Steven Meyer inside the home and his mother wanted him removed from the Investigations residence. The other adult son was attempting to calm his brother Mario Reyes Tanner Spicer down but was not successful, which is why our services were Sergeants needed. Upon further investigation, it was learned that the son Neil Garlock causing the disturbance was only 20 years old and was Brian Connery intoxicated. He was cited for underage consumption and sent to Eric Petersen Ramsey County Detox for a "time out." Reserves Randy Pentel Theft Saturday 1802 hours Gino Messina A family, who was visiting the area for a hockey tournament and Jesse Mettrner holiday shopping, were staying at a local hotel and called to Andrew Quinlan report a theft on Saturday evening. They had been shopping Chief Mike duringthe da and did exact) what we would have Y Y Aschenbrener recommended from a crime prevention stand point . . . they -1- 12/3/2010 removed all their newly acquired purchases from the vehicle and secured them in their hotel room. Unfortunately, they returned hours later and found that the items had been stolen from their secured room. Officer Chad Willson took all of the original information and the case has been referred to investigations who are working with hotel management and employees to develop suspect information. Disturbance Sunday 0306 hours Caller reported that the people in the apartment above them were screaming at the top of their lungs. When Officer Peyton Fleming arrived all was calm and quiet. The occupants of the offending apartment admitted they were all worked up about the Gophers vs. Hawkeyes football game. However, if you noticed the time of the call in the heading ... the game had been over for quite some time. They agreed no more noise for the evening, wait ... morning!! Assault Monday 1832 hours Officer Chad Willson and Sgt. Brian Convery responded to a bus stop at an intersection on Pilot Knob Road on report of an assault in progress. Two adult students who attend a local post -secondary institution had gotten into an argument in one of their evening classes and the fight escalated into a physical assault after class ended. One of the parties was injured but refused transport by ambulance and advised she would seek medical attention on her own. The other party did not sustain any visible injuries and according to officers and witnesses was the aggressor in the incident. She was somewhat uncooperative and was transported to the Dakota County Jail as she is being charged with assault. The case has been forwarded to investigations and the appropriate attorney for criminal charging. Harassing Text Message Wednesday 1045 hours Officer Jennifer Fordham spoke to a woman in the lobby of the police department who was concerned because she had received a text message that was from an unknown number and was pornographic in nature. She did not believe she was being targeted necessarily but her cell phone company advised her to contact the police since the message was somewhat disturbing to her. Officer Fordham was able to make contact with the sender, who was quite embarrassed. He admitted to sending the message to another consenting party but had accidentally entered the wrong number. He wanted to extend his apologies to the unsuspecting person he offended and was advised to exercise more caution & think twice about sending inappropriate messages at all. Life lesson learned! Another ASSAULT Thursday 1922 hours Officer Todd Rosse responded to a local college on report of an assault that had occurred in a classroom. Reportedly, the victim and suspect had been bantering about clean-up duties; however, upon being snapped with a towel, the suspect became more aggressive. He got in the victim's face, grabbed at her when she walked away, and she slapped him to get him away from her. The suspect, a recent felon, trained in boxing, apparently hauled off and punched her in the face and nose. During the interview, the suspect lied about his identity, and then later, notified Officer Rosse that he had a boo-boo on his leg from the towel snapping. Aww. Suspect charged with 5th Degree Assault and False Info to police, and his probation officer was notified. Htave a great weezev�,d!JewwU awd 1 -dm -2-