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2006-12-08 Friday NewsCOMMISSIONS CANCEL DECEMBER MEETINGS Provided that there is not any critical business, the City's three commissions canceled their December meetings. This Tuesday the City Council authorized cancellation of the Planning Commission, Park & Recreation, and Airport Relations Commission's December meetings. BUDGET ADOPTED The City Council held the required "Truth in Taxation" public hearing on Monday evening, and at their regular meeting on Tuesday adopted the City's 2007 Budget. The City's Finance Director Kristen Schabacker did an excellent job of presenting the budget and answering questions on Monday at the public hearing (only one member of the public attended). This years' levy is a 3.6% increase over 2006 which will result in a 5.6% decrease in tax rate. With property valuations up an average of 8%, this will mean an average tax increase to the Mendota Heights property owners of about 2%. Got you confused? CELL TOWER / WARNING SIREN AT CITY HALL Verizon Wireless removed the antennas, wiring and ground equipment frame at the base of the cell tower west of the baseball field on Monday as requested by the City Council. Ownership of the tower will be transferred to the City. The warning siren atop the pole was left in place and undisturbed. VALLEY VIEW HEIGHTS PLAYGROUND Installation of new playground equipment at the Valley View Heights playground (Cullen @ Timmy Streets) began on Tuesday. The existing outdated wooden structure will be removed, new non-toxic border timbers installed, and accessible wood -fiber surfacing will be installed. NEW BACKSTOPS FOR YOUTH BALL FIELDS Work began Monday to replace backstops at the youth ball fields in Wentworth, Marie and Valley Parks. The new backstops will be funded from the Special Park Fund. Existing wing fencing will remain and connected to the new, higher backstops. TREE LIGHTING The first annual tree lighting ceremony was held this Thursday night on the Village Green. Although it was very cold, the event was well attended. Featured attractions were Santa Clause, the Visitation Choir, a horse drawn sleigh, carolers and free refreshments. The Mayor did an excellent job of emceeing the event and of course lighting the tree. PANDEMIC FLU WORKSHOP On Wednesday this week, Jake attended a workshop entitled "Open for Business" regarding the pandemic flu. Presenters from the Minnesota Department of Health and Dakota County Public Health outlined the nature of the threat. Other presenters talked about planning considerations and models. While media attention is waning on this subject, it still poses a real threat that we need to address. Dakota County Emergency Services and Public Health Departments are working together to provide resources for communities. Staff will continue to work with the county and our neighboring communities to develop our pandemic response. LAND USE TRAINING AT LMC Also on Wednesday, Ultan, Sue and Jake attended training at the League of Minnesota Cities regarding land use planning and enforcement. The League spends a significant amount of resources defending land use decisions, and provided useful information on the Legislative and Quasi -Judicial roles local government plays regarding land use. Comprehensive Plans, Zoning Ordinances, Subdivision Ordinances and Sign Ordinances were all discussed. Respectfully submitted, Jim Danielson City Administrator Attachments: Just the Facts, Pipeline and article "Mendota Lights celebrates the Season". Have a great weekend!! Issue # 10-41 _Me (Alt45t M%3frm, 4faJ ,.ts 7,47rue De , r t cwt December 8, 2006 Suspicious Activity 11-30-06 1108 hours Officer Eric Petersen received a call of a suspicious occupied car on Victoria near Marie. The car was parked facing the wrong direction. Investigation revealed it was a MNDOT worker doing the speed study we had requested in 2004. Possible Accident 11-30-06 1554 hours Caller reported a vehicle on — maybe in - the pond near the intersection of Hwy 110 and Dodd. Officer Petersen located a MNDOT employee working in the area. They had left their car in drive when they got out to work so the car rolled down the hill. No further assistance required. Medical 11-30-06 2144 hours Officer Brian Convery responded to a medical at Brown College. One of the cooking students dropped a knife and it bounced up, sticking in his leg. Assisted with first aid. Officer Convery then stayed on scene and worked with the building management in an attempt to resolve a VOIP 911 problem. The first attempt took multiple attempts to contact the 911 operator. Brown is working to resolve the issue. Civil Issue 12-01-06 1216 hours A resident and her psychologist came to MHPD to report an altered "last will and testament." The will had cleared probate approximately 2 years earlier and the there was no evidence of any wrong doing in Mendota Heights. Advised on options. Felon in Possession of handgun 12-01-06 1753 hours As part of an on-going investigation by Northfield PD they learned a convicted felon had a handgun stashed in his place of business. Investigator Scott Patrick drafted a search warrant based on the information and recovered a handgun. Charges pending. Toilet Seat Stuck on Head 12-01-06 1840 hours Officer Denise Urmann was dispatched to a 4 YOA child with a "child size toilet seat" stuck on their head. Dad cut the seat off with a gardening tool. Stolen Car (OnStar tracking) 12-02-067 2123 hours Sergeant John Larrive received a call of a stolen car just taken out of a driveway in St. Paul. OnStar was tracking the vehicle, as it the headed into Eagan on Pilot Knob RD. Reminder a running car with keys is a very convenient target. Don't set yourself up to be a victim. Theft 12-04-06 1027 hours Officer Bobby Lambert responded to a local business that reported 6 laptop computers taken over the weekend. There was physical evidence recovered. Access security was very lax and there is no video monitoring of the building. _I_ Issue # 10-41 December 8, 2006 Domestic Assault 12-05-06 1805 hours Officer Denise Urmann responded to a domestic assault, subjects now separated. Upon arrival, the caller reported that she had argued with her 18 YOA daughter. Who then pushed her to the ground, injuring her tail bone. Healtheast Ambulance was contacted. The daughter was arrested without incident. Once secured in the squad the suspect began hyperventilating. Healtheast checked her out at the scene and OK'd her for transport. At MHPD the suspect began complaining of heart palpitations. Healtheast arrived and transported her to Regions. After receiving a clean bill of health from the emergency room the suspect was transported to the DC jail. DAR 12-05-06 1950 hours Officer Mike Shepard observed a car drive around a snow fence, run into a pole, then drive over a curb and onto the street. The car was stopped and driver was asked why he had done that. The driver advised that a car was on fire blocking the real exit from the parking lot. Officer Shepard cleared that scene to assist with the car fire (but asked the driver to stay put). He did return and cited the driver for DAR. Car Fire / DAC / DAR 12-05-06 1950 hours Officer Shepard arrived at the car fire in the parking lot to find a man was standing over the smoking truck with a fire extinguisher. He advised that the fire was out and it was not a problem. Wires were still sparking under the hood. MHFD was contacted. The female, who said she was the driver, was revoked and was advised that she would be receiving a citation by mail. MHFD arrived a short time later and unhooked the battery. Officer Shepard cleared the scene to assist another officer who radioed for help. Approximately a half hour later, MHFD received a return call as the fire had restarted. Upon arrival, it was obvious that the car had been moved. The male who had put out the first fire was immediately placed under arrest for DAC. The fire was now in the bed of the truck - the driver had thrown the burning air filter back there, but unfortunately, the bed of the truck contained a pile of rags — not good. The driver was cited and released. Yes, she was revoked and he was cancelled both for alcohol problems.The car was impounded. But wait, there's more to come at this location! DUI 12-05-06 2100 hours As he cleared the car fire in the parking lot, Officer Shepard watched a car pull into the lot with no lights on and scrape a parked car from the back bumper to the driver's door. The suspect attempted to leave, but his exit was blocked by the squad car. The driver and passengers were not very cooperative. The driver was so intoxicated he could barely speak but did manage to tell Officer Shepard that the passenger had a gun and told him to drive away or he would shoot him. After back up arrived, the passengers were removed at gun point (still not very cooperative). Officer Shepard, happy for a reason to finally leave the parking lot arrested the driver and escorted him and the passengers back to MHPD. The driver was read the MN Implied Consent Advisory and after consulting with an attorney refused the test. While Officer Shepard was filling out the paperwork, the suspect vomited repeatedly in the holding cell. As Officer Shepard prepared the man for transport to jail he advised he felt much better after throwing up as he had been drunk for 66 hours straight. 911 call 12-07-06 1205 hours Sergeant Donn Anderson responded to a 911 call with unknown problems. Upon arrival he spoke with the elderly resident who didn't remember using the phone. No problems at the residence. Clear without incident. Paintball Complaint 12-07-06 2012 hours Victim reported to Sergeant Neil Garlock that his home had been paint balled approximately 15 times. The victim had been out of town for a couple of days. The home didn't appear to be damaged. Victim will clean off the paint and advise if there is permanent damage. Theft 12-07-06 0659 hours Manager of a local business reported $1500 taken from the store overnight. Investigator Mario Reyes interviewed the manager and one of the store employees. The next morning he interviewed another night shift employee and after a short conversation he admitted to taking the money to pay his bills. Charges pending. //I -e a tmar ".&WI 0 A/6 Public Works The Parks Crew tested the flooding hoses and fittings. They were then taken to the warming houses. Flooding of the hockey and general rinks was started this week. Netting on the hockey goals was installed. New parts were put on the Xmark mower and then put away for winter storage. The Street Crew installed more ""No Parking" ordinance signs. A street light photocell on Northland Drive was changed. The wing was put on #304. The squeeze roller for signs was replaced. Rich was called in on Sunday at 5:45 P.M. for a sewer backup at 861 Mendakota Court. With John Boland's help, they jetted the blockage clear then jetted downstream where needed. There was a lot of grease in the line. On Monday, Rich met with Mendakota Country Club maintenance personnel and it was discovered they don't have a grease trap. Rich changed the heater element at the St. Thomas lift station. Rich cut trees and brush on the sewer easement for Mendakota Court. Enaineerine� Visu Sewer will be slipping the sanitary sewer on Delaware Avenue next week. Veit & Company is constructing the slope at 2400 Pilot Knob Road. The plans call for a light weight fill consisting of various sizes of Styrofoam blocks as shown in the pictures below. Veit also hauled excess dirt to Pilot Knob to fill in old building foundations. s.t5 Community to gather at Mendota Village MEGAN ANDERSON ® SUN NEWSPAPERS Mendota Heights will celebrate the holidays with its first Mendota Lights tree lighting ceremony Thursday, Dec. 7. The event will start at 5 p.m. in the Village at Mendota Heights, at Highway 110 and Dodd Road. Featured will be entertainment from members of the Sibley High School and Visitation choirs, as well as carolers. Of course, Santa will also be present at the festivities. Mayor John Huber will flip the switch to light the tree at 6:30 p.m. City Councilmember Sandra Krebsbach said she is looking forward to tonight's event. "This is really the anniversary of the f opening of the center," Krebsbach said. She said gatherings like Mendota Lights are something they hoped to have when they were planning the Village at Mendota Heights. "We wanted to have a civic green where the city could have events," Krebsbach said. And the Village continues to grow. Many businesses have put up shop in Mendota Village. Cold Stone Creamery, the Wine Market, Sage Market and Fantastic Sams are just feet of the businesses that have taken up residence in the village. Workout center Anytime Fitness is coin- ciding its opening with thecommunity event. The 24-hour fitness center officially opened its doors about four weeks ago. "Some of my neighbors already belong there," Krebsbach said. Jeff Klinger, one of the chain's co- founders, is from Mendota Heights. "We've had a very good response," manager Tony Decker said of the commu- nity. "We're all about the convenience." There will be specials in every store throughout the Mendota Lights event. "It's wonderful that we're having an event like this," Krebsbach said. `And to use the civic green for what it was " intended. We hope parents, children and guests, of the city will come out." 'I�.�s eartlir sl really ree the per£eet 9: x_ hea. , With the ea Gain@ 'netivd: that"fit, • pe Gall tdday -hearin aid of these eel 2/25/0&)