2009-10-09 Friday NewsOctober 9, 2009
Halloween Bonfire
This year's Halloween Bonfire had to be cancelled. The Paster Family which
has been so generous to allow the City to have this event at their Mendota Plaza
site all of this time, is preparing to begin construction of their new improvements
that were approved by City Council this summer. Russ Wahl and his family be-
gan this event many years ago and then turned it over to the Mendota Heights
Fire Department when they were no longer able to do it by themselves. Al-
though it is cancelled for 2009 we are already making plans to establish a new
location for the event next year.
2009 Citizen Police Academy -DWI (Driving While Impaired) Class
On Thursday night of this week, the 4t" class of the 2009 Citizen Police Academy was hosted at
West St Paul PD. The class members were given a focused and detailed instruction on DWI stops
as conducted by a police officer. The class learned, from an officer and the law perspective, how a
DWI stop is conducted, starting with determining when you to initiate the stop, the tools used to
determine sobriety and the reasons to arrest a suspect.
While the class was learning this information, a group of eight volunteers was sequestered nearby,
provided with alcohol and some snacks and instructed to begin drinking. A control group had been
established at the outset, determining who would be slightly intoxicated, intoxicated and well over
Dthe legal limit (.08 Breath Alcohol Content — B.A.C.). The volunteers, given either beer or hard
alcohol, drank over a two-hour period of time, and were given three PBT (Preliminary Breath Test)
to determine their progress (how drunk are you?) which helped maintain the control group. Most
Aof the group was surprised to learn how little or how much it really took to reach the legal limit.
Let's just say the control group needed some flexibility, as there were some surprise drunks.
The volunteers then joined the class, which had split up into groups of three. The groups then con-
ducted Standardized Field Sobriety Tests on the drinkers, with the goal of determining if an arrest
should be made. Both groups were surprised at the difficulty involved in performing and conduct-
ing theses tests. It was interesting for everyone to see the detail involved, the balance required, and
the level of training and professionalism required by our police officers.
All of the drinkers were remained happy/silly, all of the class members were fun,. professional and
astute, and the leadership of the class was well -organized and thorough. It was a fun, productive
-LIN night and everyone had a good time. And yes, sober cabs were provided by our Reserve Officers.
To top off the night, someone even bought the whole group White Castle — perfect!
We have had so much positive commentary from both the 2008 and 2009 attendees of the Acad-
emy. The information provided by these two departments, the level of professionalism displayed
and the hands-on learning has been highly acclaimed and appreciated. If you or someone you
know in the city is interested in attending next year's class, be sure to watch the city website for the
class schedule (most likely coming again in the fall of 2010).
ii
Fire Department Open House
Don't forget it is Fire Prevention Week and the Mendota Heights Fire Department will be hosting their annual
Fire Department Open House on Saturday, October 10th from 10:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M.
The car fire will be at 2:00 this year and there are plenty of activities to keep the family busy. Pluggy will be
there to take your picture with as well as Snuffy, the fire dog. There will be hot dogs, pop, fire truck rides and
lots of educational information to keep you fire safe.
October 9, 2009
I I H H IkINUIT"Y1
Parks & Recreation Meeting 10-13-09 6:30 p.m.
Airport Relations Commission Mtg 10-14-09 7:00 p.m.
MAC Meeting 10-19-09 1:00 P.M.
Planning Commission Mtg 10-27-09 7:00 p.m.
Attachments
Just The Facts, Pipeline and Upcoming Parl.,-/Recreation/Community Events.
October 9, 2009
10/9/2009
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Citizen's Academy
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This week the Mendota Heights, West Saint Paul Police Department
Citizen's Academy met at WSPPD and learned about drunk driving.
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The presenter Sgt. John Hinderschied of the WSPPD was the lead
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instructor. John volunteers on a regular basis, telling his family's story
p artnzent
about losing his brother to a drunk driver. The students learned about
the laws, procedures and training that goes into arresting a drunk
Support
driver. After instruction, they were provided with an opportunity to
Staff
assess a drunk and determine if they should arrest them. Eight
kenning
volunteers drank to a predetermined BAC and then submitted to an
Sandie Ristine
hour of SFST's. The students worked in teams to decide if they would
'Susan Donovan
arrest the drunk, what their BAC was at and if they would pass or fail
Cathy Ransomthe
SFST's. Let's say it was interesting - some of our drinkers would
Becky Perltel
have received a free pass and others would have been arrested
without much cause. Thanks to Sgt Hinderschied and the WSPPD for
Po11ce Officers
hostingthe session.
Jerry Murphy
Scott atrick'
AAA with a Badge! Saturday 1500 hours
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Officer Scott Patrick responded to assist a local citizen with a complaint
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that someone had stolen the battery from her vehicle while parked in
Tanner Spicet
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the underground garage at her residence complex. Upon opening the
Todd se
41 Clad Willson
hood, there was no battery. However, the elderly woman insisted it
J eff UanFeldt
should be under the hood and it has always been located under the
Jenny or d 'a
hood. After showing her the owner's manual proving the batter
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Denise LTrran
location is under the rear seat of the vehicle, Officer Patrick also had to
Michael She aid
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actually show it to her to convince her that it was not stolen but just
Peyton Flemn
where it should be. No theft report needed!
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Suspicious Workers? Sunday 0712 hours
School Resource
Officer Tanner Spicer responded to a call regarding a suspicious car
officer
sitting in front of the complainant's residence. The reporting party
Steve Meyer
observed the occupants of the vehicle "eyeing" the roofing material in
.
Invesugatons
the yard. Upon speaking with the occupants of the vehicle, Officer
Maria Re es
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Spicer was able to determine that they were looking at the roofing
Eric Petersen
material for a completely different reason ... they were the roofers who
had been hired to do the work!
Sergeants
Property Damage Sunday 0825 hours
Neil Garlock
Officer Scott Patrick was dispatched on a report of damage to property.
John l,arive
The complainant stated someone had thrown brick through their bay
Brian ConVery
window. A red lawn edging paver was found lying in the bushes below
the broken window and is believed to be the culprit. The broken
Chef
window could be due to a disagreement about the timing of divorce
Mike
hearing. This incident is under investigation for damage to property,
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10/9/2009
threats and harassment.
Suspicious Person Monday 0137 hours
Complainant called because of a suspicious person in the neighborhood. Upon arrival,
Officer Tanner Spicer was able to determine that it was only the paper delivery person.
Officers are always glad when these suspicious incidents end up to be people just doing their
jobs. But they are also glad when citizens don't hesitate to call when they see something
unusual going on in their neighborhood.
Senior Pranks Saturday 1015 hours
Officer Todd Rosse was called to a residence because the number "10" had been spray
painted on the concrete driveway, as well as "Seniors 10" in the nearby grass. Damage to
the driveway may be permanent.
Kitchen Fire Saturday 1854 hours
Officer Denise Urmann, Sgt. John Larrive, and Investigator Mario Reyes responded along
with the MHFD to the 500 block of Simard Street on a kitchen fire. The officers quickly
determined that all people/animals were safe and then secured the area for MHFD. MHFD
extinguished the relatively large and fast spreading kitchen fire. No one was injured MHFD
was able to successfully put out the fire. The home sustained smoke, fire and water
damage. Investigator Reyes a trained fire scene investigator assisted in photographing the
scene.
Solicitor's Permit Required Wednesday 1835 hours
Sergeant John Larrive cited two gentlemen for lack of Solicitor Permits who were selling
steaks door-to-door. The two men came into the police department the following day to get
permits and at that time, questioned the city's ordinances about solicitors. They wanted to
know why Schwann's employees don't need "permits". They were advised that because
Schwann's employees don't go "door-to-door" and they only deal with existing accounts, they
didn't need to have permits from the city. This seemed to appease them for the time being as
they continued on with the permit process. However they stated they would more than likely
be going to court to fight the tickets they received the night before.
Burglary Friday 0854 hours
An area business reported that eight laptop computers had been removed from the shipping
boxes and stolen from his business. Officer Chad Willson responded to the scene and
determined that this was in fact a burglary, not a theft. He located where the thief (ves) were
able to force entry into the shipping area via the service door. The burglars were kind
enough to leave the neatly opened shipping boxes before they left with the valuable items. It
is always nice to have the full model and serial numbers handy for entry into NCIC, the
national database for stolen property and missing persons.
Suspicious Person Wednesday 1140 hours
Visitation School reported that there was a suspicious person sitting in a vehicle in the
parking lot by the soccer fields. Officer Scott Patrick made contact with the party and
determined there was no foul play after speaking with occupant. He turned out to be a
salesman who had pulled over to make a few cell phone calls rather than doing it while
driving. How's that for a safe driver?? @
Found Dog Sunday 1019 hours
A yellow lab with collar and tags, but no city License was found roaming by itself. Officer
Rosse tried checking previous reports to see if the owner could be located. No one had
reported any dogs missing. He eventually had to place the dog with Four Paws (the pound)
for safe keeping.
Road Rage/Driving Complaint Sunday 1736 hours
Squads responded to the area of Hwy 1 10/Dodd Rd concerning a vehicle off the road due to
a road rage incident. Officer Todd Rosse spoke to the driver of the vehicle in the ditch who
stated he had been forced off the road by another vehicle. A witness who was also on scene
reported the vehicle had been forced off the road by a second vehicle which was no longer in
the area. The witness was able to obtain a license plate of the second vehicle and a basic
description of the driver and a passenger. The investigation is continuing.
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Public Works
The Parks Crew set up and took down tents, tables and chairs at the Pilot Knob
site on Sunday for the ""pipe ceremony". They took the basketball game, tables
and chairs to Boltz Tae Kwon Do to celebrate their anniversary. The soccer fields
were striped. They prepared information for research on the skating rinks at Ivy
Falls Park,
Northern Pump did check ups on the lift stations for the electronics, pumps and
overall station condition. St. Paul Regional Water Services made repairs to the
hydrants in the Ivy Falls area.
The Streets Crew put down black dirt and grass seed at 677 Arcadia, 675 Marie
Avenue and 1280 Dodd Road. Blacktopping was done on Wagon Wheel Trail,
Swan Court, Rogers Court, Alice Court the fire station parking lot.and around the
two water boxes on the pedway behind Parkview Plaza. No dumping signs were
put up along with a fence around the old Halloween bonfire site. The Streets Crew
and Tom Olund attended the St. Cloud Fall Street Equipment Expo in St. Cloud.
Visitation Roundabout - Staff has met with representatives of Visitation School
and haveprovided the easement documents necessary for construction of the
roundabout. Mother Superior of Visitation Convent is on a retreat in conjunction
with her 50th anniversary jubilee and will sign the documents upon her return.
Once signed by Visitation, the easements will be before Council for approval either
at the October 20th or November 3rd meeting. Staff has also discussed with
Visitation and Dave Bjorklund options for access to their properties on Condon
Court. Any access to the Roundabout will need to be agreed upon by Visitation as
they are the owners of the property between the Bjorklund properties and the
roundabout. Their discussions are ongoing.
Water Tower Rehabilitation - Staff met with representatives from the design team
of MSA Professional Services and KLM Engineering for a kickoff meeting on the
Water Tower Rehabilitation project. The consultant team hopes to have plans and
specification ready by the end of November, and will likely be presenting a project
update to Council at the November 3rd Meeting. Construction of the rehab project
is anticipated for 2010.
FM
Trunk Highway 55 & Mendota Heights Road Intersection Improvement - The City's
consultant engineer is adjusting the plans to reduce the overall construction cost
of the project. Upon review of the preliminary plans, Staff observed the
construction cost estimate for the project was in excess of what the City has
allocated for our share of the expense. In reviewing the consultant's assumptions,
Staff discovered they were using a traffic growth factor that was inconsistent with
the City's Comprehensive Plan. Staff provided the consultant with the proper
growth figures, and they are adjusting the design accordingly. The project is a
MnDOT State Aid Cooperative Agreement Project whereby MnDOT has allocated
$424,821.00 toward the construction cost, and the City has agreed to cover the
balance. The estimated City contribution to the construction project is
$350,000-000
2010 Road Reconstruction Project - Council accepted the Feasibility Report and
ordered the Public Hearing for the 2010 Road Reconstruction Project. Streets
included in next years project are Simard Street, Miriam Street, Valley Lane, View
Lane, Esther Lane, John Street, Spring Street, and Diego Lane. A neighborhood
meeting is scheduled for October 28th, and the public hearing before Council is
scheduled for November 3rd.
P-2
upcoming Park lRecreation / Community Events.0
MH Parks & Recreation fLogramS Registration Required @ 651.452-1850
For information regarding "Fall and Winter Parks & Recreation Programs"
call 651.452-1850 or www.mendota-heiqhts.com
Community Events.0
,
November 21s', 2009 - Saturday
Firemen's Dance - contact Nancy at City Offices for info / tickets
Ar"W Ar -
scheduled Us e- o -!f U"I*ty Hall meefine -Rooms
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Use of a meeting room can be scheduled with the City Hall receptionist - 651.452-1850
4L,
Monday, October 12th
6:30-1 0:00prn
Mendota Heights Garden Club meets in Council Chambers
Monday, October 12th
7:30 pm
M H A A monthly board meeting in large conference room
Tuesday, October 13th
6:30 pm
- Mendota Heights Parks & Recreafion Commission
Wednesday, October 14th
6:00 pm
IVIN Alumni Association meeting in Council Chambers
Wednesday, October 14th
7:00 pm
- Airport Relations Commission meets in large conference room
Thursday, October 15th
6:00 pm
Citizens Police Academy meets in Council Chambers
Monday, October 10th
6:00 pm
Kensington To home meets in large conference room
Tuesday, October 20th
7:00 pm
- City Council meeting in the Council Chambers
Thursday, October 22nd
6:00 pm
Citizens Police Academy in Council Chambers