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2016-03-11 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: March 13 Daylight Saving Change your clocks March 14 Parks & Recreation Summer Program Registration begins 8:00 a.m. March 15 City Council 7:00 p.m. March 22 Planning Commission 7:00 p.m. April 5 City Council 7:00 p.m. March 12 Parks Commission 6:30 p.m. March 13 Airport Commission 7:00 p.m. Attachments: Pipeline, Just the Facts March 11, 2016 Airport Relations Commission Open House a Success The Airport Relations Commission (ARC) hosted an open house this past week. Representatives from the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) were on hand to discuss airport issues of interest to approximately 25 residents. If you missed the open house, it is available online: http://bit.ly/1TAmW6x City Council to Consider CenturyLink Cable Television Franchise The Northern Dakota County Cable Communications Commission (NDC4) manages the City’s cable franchises on behalf of the City. At their February 23rd meeting, NDC4 Cable Commission adopted resolution 2-23-16 recommending that each member city grant a cable communications franchise to CenturyLink. NDC4 Execu- tive Director Jodie Miller and Brian Grogan, legal counsel for NDC4 provided a brief presentation on the draft franchise ordinance and agreement on Thursday, March 3 during the City Council meeting. The presentation is available online at www.townsquare.tv. On Tuesday, March 15, the City Council will conduct a public hearing and consider adopting the proposed Cable Television Franchise Ordinance with CenturyLink. Residents are encouraged to attend and provide comment on the proposed agreement. Summer Parks and Recreation Registration Registration for 2016 summer programs opens Monday, March 14 at 8:00 a.m. Residents can register online or in person at City Hall. New this year is Teen Tuesday. Check out the weekly trips planned for youth ages 12 to 15: June 21: Valleyfair June 28: Kayaking the St. Croix & Taylor Falls July 19: Edina Mini Golf/Paddle Boats/Water Park July 26: Segway Tour & Beach August 2: Zip-Line at Trollhaugen August 16: Bunker Beach Water Park August 23: St. Paul Saints Game Visit www.mendota-heights.com for additional summer recreation program information. Public Works The Parks Crew finished repairing and putting new picnic tables together. Housekeeping was done in the shop. The snow blower from vehicle 1585 was removed and replaced with the mower deck. Trash was picked up in the parks daily. The Utilities Crew checked the lift stations daily, continued online OSHA training, and attended a traffic safety seminar. A sanitary sewer inspection was completed at two new homes at Lemay Shores. The trunk line was walked and the manholes checked from the business park to Dodd Road and Highway 110. Two downed trees covering a manhole were removed. The Streets Crew continued to trim trees in the Copperfield neighborhood area and south of Lockwood. They attended safety training , and helped with spring cleaning the shop. Engineering – Project descriptions simplified for easier reading. For more information, please contact the Engineering Department at (651) 452-1850. City Projects (construction year) Victoria Road Reconstruction & Rolling Green Neighborhood Rehabilitation (2014/2015) – Warranty and punch list items to be completed in the spring. Mendota Road Neighborhood Improvements (2016) – Plans have been submitted to MnDOT for review. A neighborhood meeting is scheduled for March 23rd from 6:30-8:00pm at City Hall. Invitations have been sent to adjacent property owners. Construction is expected to begin in June after the end of the school year. Update of Local Surface Water Management Plan (LSWMP) – Staff has provided the consultant background materials requested for their work in updating the plan. A draft plan is expected by May/June. Watershed approval is expected in August with City Council adoption in January 2017. Lake Augusta Alum Treatment (2016) – Grant funded. The Lower Mississippi River Watershed Management Organization (LMRWMO) has submitted the work plan for the project, which includes work on Sunfish The Pipeline N E W S L E T T E R Public Works Engineering March 11, 2016 Lake and Thompson Lake in West Saint Paul. The LMRWMO will be responsible for the project, and the City will contribute matching funds for the treatment. Treatment is expected in the fall. County Projects Highway 110 Greenway Trail Crossing (2017) – Easements for the trail connections and necessary City permits will be brought to City Council at a future date. MnDOT and Dakota County are planning an open house which is scheduled for this coming summer/fall to go over final design details. Traffic Signal Improvements: I-494 & Pilot Knob Road (2016) – Plans are at MnDOT for review. Construction is expected in June. State Projects Highway 13 Slope Repair (2015-2016) – Residents should anticipate a second closure of Highway 13 beginning in early June and lasting to mid - July. This closure will allow for the completion of the slope reinforcement work not completed during the winter. Highway 110 Rehabilitation (2017) – A Public Hearing will be held on April 5th at the regular City Council meeting before Local Government Consent is considered by the Council. Local Government Consent is requested for access changes being proposed to close the right-in–right-out east of Lexington (except for emergency vehicles) and establishing new drainage easements at several locations along the project. Changes to access through the median do not require Local Government Consent. For more information contact Molly Cline, MnDOT Project Manager, 651-234-7723 or molly.cline@state.mn.us. Highway 149 (Dodd Road) Rehabilitation (2018) – Community Advisory Committee (CAC) selected members and have been notified. Three residents from Mendota Heights were selected to serve on the CAC. Contact Tara McBride, Project Manager at 651-234-7506, or tara.mcbride@state.mn.us for more information. Pilot Knob Bridge over I-494 Expansion Joint Repair (2016) – MnDOT will be working on the Pilot Knob Road bridge over I-494 this summer. They will be rehabilitating the concrete expansion joints on the bridge deck. Work is expected to take 10-14 days. Staff is attending a pre-construction meeting on March 24th, and will learn proposed construction dates afterwards. Other Activities City-Wide Trail Plan Update – The City has applied for a Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP) grant from Dakota County to study the Dodd Road (Highway 149) corridor for pedestrian improvements. Notification of grant award is expected on Tuesday. Staff is scheduled to meet with our Planning Consultant on Thursday to review the project scope. Engineering 101 Seminar (April 6, 2016 – Eagan Community Center) – Invitations for the upcoming seminar have been sent out. The seminar is scheduled for Wednesday, April 6th, 2016 at the Eagan Community Center from 6:00pm – 9:00pm and will cover municipal requirements and practices for maintaining traffic, streets, storm water, and utilities. Cities are initially limited to six attendees per City. If seats remain open closer to the course date, they can be claimed on a first come, first serve basis. Lower Mississippi River Watershed Management Organization (LMRWMO) – Staff attended the monthly LMRWMO Board meeting on Wednesday. A presentation was made by Inver Grove Heights on the storm water management proposed for their Northwest Area development, and the progress on the Alum treatment for Lake Augusta was discussed. Dakota County Municipal Separated Storm Sewer System (MS4) Collaborative – Staff attended the first meeting of the group, which is made up of municipal and County agencies that regulate storm and surface water. The purpose of this group is to share successes and challenges to assist each other in meeting MS4 permit regulatory requirements. The group plans to meet 2-3 times per year and establish an on-line forum for the exchange of questions and ideas. 1 The latest from the Mendota Heights Police Department CHIEF Mike Aschenbrener SERGEANTS Eric Petersen Tanner Spicer Peyton Fleming Bobby Lambert POLICE OFFICERS John Larrive Todd Rosse Jeff VonFeldt Steven Meyer Denise Urmann Michael Shepard Nick Gorgos Robin Nelson Steve Hilyar Phillip McCarty INVESTIGATIONS Chad Willson SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER Jennifer Fordham SUPPORT STAFF Kim Henning Trista Miller Shayna Hoechst Becky Pentel RESERVES Randy Pentel Jim Knox Jeff Parker CHAPLAINS Butch Millett John Snider Alberto Vargas Lynn Liberman Sue Plucker Joel Detlefsen Lenny Andrie MARCH 11 2016 TUNNEL VISION At some point in every police officer’s career they will experience a criƟcal incident that taxes their mind and body. Did you know, when under the extreme stress of a criƟcal incident, there are numerous physiological changes that take place to enable our ﬁght or ﬂight response? Two of these physiological changes are “Tunnel Vision” and auditory exclusion. Most people are familiar with “Tunnel Vision,” which occurs when the thalamus ﬁlters out non‐criƟcal informaƟon, which includes anything not in the center of our vision. Because of the physiological changes in the eye, and the insƟncƟve orientaƟon to the threat, the threat stays in the center of our vision, where the vision is in far greater detail. Coupled with the thalamus ﬁltering out non criƟcal data, you could lose as much as 80% of your ﬁeld of vision, but what you do see could be in incredible detail. Auditory exclusion is the thalamus ﬁltering out auditory data. In law enforcement studies, this occurred for 85% of officers involved in a criƟcal incident. SomeƟmes all sound was diminished and in others just the sound of the gun shots was diminished. Several ways to decrease the physiological changes is to recognize you’re involved in a criƟcal incident, scan your vision, remember to breath, and train to the highest level. When a police officer frequently performs scenario based training they lessen the physiological changes during a criƟcal incident. The Police Department has experienced an increased number of calls this week regarding phone scams, especially aggressive and threatening phone scams from “The IRS.” According to their website, the IRS will never call you without prior communicaƟon by mail, and they will never make demands or threaten you over the phone. The IRS recommends the following: If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS and asking for money, here’s what the IRS says you should do: If you don’t owe taxes, or have no reason to think that you do: Do not give out any informaƟon. Hang up immediately. Contact TIGTA to report the call. Use their “IRS ImpersonaƟon Scam ReporƟng” web page. You can also call 800‐366‐4484. Report it to the Federal Trade Commission. Use the “FTC Complaint Assistant” on FTC.gov. Please add “IRS Telephone Scam” in the notes. If you know you owe, or think you may owe tax: Call the IRS at 800‐829‐1040. IRS workers can help you. The Police Department recommends the following to prevent becoming a vicƟm of a scam: Get educated; learn about phone scams. Visit Federal Trade Commission. Use Caller ID to screen your calls. If you receive any type of suspicious call or message from someone who asks you for informaƟon or money, or asks you for access to the same, do not provide or conﬁrm any data, hang up and verify the issue with the actual source. Call your bank or credit card company direct, or check with a family member ﬁrst. Trust your gut—if you think it’s a scam, it probably is! 2 BURGLARY THURSDAY 1608 HOURS Sergeant Tanner Spicer and Sergeant Eric Petersen were dispatched to a possible residential burglary. Upon arrival the officers met with the victim who informed them that he has just returned home from a trip and noticed his front entry door open. The house was then cleared by the Sergeants and had visibly revealed that the home had been gone through with several items of property within the home being stolen. Evidence was collected from the scene. Case is pending. VEHICLE THEFT THURSDAY 2233 HOURS Officer Steve Hilyar responded to caller reporting a stolen vehicle. The owner of the car reported that the suspect had taken her car without permission and has made no attempt to return the vehicle. The owner was requesting that the vehicle reported stolen. Case pending. THEFT OF GAS FRIDAY 1912 HOURS Officer Steve Hilyar responded to a local gas station to a report of theft of gas. The suspect dispensed gas into the suspect vehicle and then left the location without attempting to pay. The immediate area of the gas station was checked and the vehicle a red Lincoln Town Car was not located. No license plate obtained, this case in inactive. WARRANT ARREST SATURDAY 0952 HOURS Sergeant Tanner Spicer conducted a traffic stop after running a random license check which showed the registered owner as having an active warrants for his arrest. The driver was confirmed as the owner of the vehicle. The warrants were confirmed. The driver was arrested, issued a citation for found drug paraphernalia and transported to DCJ. .The vehicle was towed. Case closed. THEFT SUNDAY 1256 HOURS Officer Roblin Nelson responded to a party reporting a theft from his property. The victim stated that multiple pieces of patio furniture (ten green & white lawn chairs and 2 folding chairs) had been stolen from his gazebo in his yard sometime in the last few days. There are no suspects at this time. Case is inactive. DOMESTIC MONDAY 1850 HOURS Officer Jeff VonFeldt and Sergeant Peyton Fleming responded to location on a verbal domestic between husband and wife. Upon arrival the male involved had left the location. Officer VonFeldt spoke with the female who stated that her husband verbally abused her by saying she is dishonest. Female was given a blue crime victim information card and advised to stay in her room for the night. The male was contacted and advised that he will stay in the basement tonight. Case closed. 3 03/04 ‐ 03/10 2016 YTD Calls for Service 118 1388 Citations 26 182 Warnings 15 189 Police Reports 18 193 Response Time Average 4.79 4.66 Check out the MH Crime Map! Click below to search your neighborhood: https://www.raidsonline.com 1101 Victoria Curve, Mendota Heights, MN 55118 If you are a Mendota Heights resident and you are going out of town or on vacation, you can notify MHPD of your outing and we will be more than happy to keep a watchful eye on your home while you are away. The House Check Request online form is available on our website; you can complete a form found in our lobby, or simply give us a call and we’ll help you out. MHPD offers monthly Car Seat Safety Checks. To schedule an appointment, call 651.452.1366 or email jennyf@mendota‐heights.com to contact Ofϐicer Jennifer Fordham. MHPD has a Medication Disposal Box in the lobby of the PD where Dakota County residents can safely and anonymously dispose of their prescription drugs and over‐the‐counter medication. Please send us your positive feedback on our staff to: pdrecords@ mendota-heights.com Your feedback is greatly appreciated and HAVE A SAFE WEEK! 1. Chests and Dressers IKEA: 27 million 2. Storage Furniture Lane Home Furn: 12 million 3. Coffee Makers Keurig: 7.2 million 4. Macaroni & Cheese KraŌ: 6.5 million 5. Notebook Power Cords HP: 6 million 6. Strollers Graco: 5 million 7. Bean Bag Chairs Ace Bayou: 2.2 million Brought to you by: www.safekids.org