2005-05-26 Friday News The Friday News
May 27, 2005
Conservation Easements – Update
When the Augusta Shores townhome development was platted, the developer dedicated a
conservation easement to the City to protect Lake Augusta. Dedicating these easements has been a
common way for the City to protect ponds and lakes from the land developing around them. The
easements require the developer and all abutting homeowners to leave the area within them totally
natural. One of the homeowners in Augusta Shores was recently caught removing “buckthorn”
from the conservation area. Well, upon inspection it, was discovered that this homeowner was
removing all the underbrush, raising the trees, and planting non-indigenous plants to give
themselves a better view of Lake Augusta. At the request of the homeowners association, I
attended their annual meeting on Monday evening this week to review the requirements of the
easement with all of the homeowners and answer their questions. After making my presentation on
the dos and don’ts wit hin the conservation easement, I discovered that the rest of the residents want
to see the City enforce the easement because I received a round of applause.
Dakota County Traffic Safety Group Formed
All City Councils within Dakota County have now passed a resolution supporting membership in
the “Dakota County Traffic Safety Group”. This achievement is especially important because
Dakota County is in the top three of Minnesota’s 87 counties for accident rate. On Saturday, June
11, twenty-two squads from all of the County’s eleven Police Departments and the Sheriff’s
Department are to meet at City Hall beginning at 9:00 P.M., and “work traffic” exclusively in
Mendota Heights for the next four hours. This event will then be repeated in all of the other eleven
jurisdictions within the County over the course of the next year. We are the first City in Dakota
County to have this traffic safety initiative done. Dakota County is the second county in the state to
do the program. Each community will look at its traffic accident history and schedule their event
around a period of high activity (we are doing the weekend after graduation = lots of parties).
Memorial Day
Monday is Memorial Day and City Offices will be closed – have a good three day weekend!!
Respectfully submitted,
Jim Danielson
City Administrator
Attachments: Pipeline, Just the Facts,