2006-06-02 Friday Newsk racy Into]
The Pilot Knob dedication Ceremony was held this Thursday afternoon at Pilot Knob. The
weather was perfect for the event and even a bald eagle circled overhead. Guy counted about
120 people in attendance. The Native American Community had a singer and drummer there
and he began the ceremony with an old Indian thank you song. The Mayor then did his usual
excellent job as master of ceremonies for the formal presentations, he introduced Bob McIlvery ,
TPL, Gail Lewellan, Pilot Knob Preservation Society, State Representative Tim Hanson and
President of the Minnesota Senate, Jim Metzen. Senator Dennis Ozment was also in the
audience. After the presentations, the "NO TRESPASSING" sign was removed and the new,
welcoming PILOT KNOB sign was put up in its place. Council Member Schneeman had
arranged for the food, refreshments and flowers. The food was great, especially E's Cheese.
Guy needs to be congratulated for doing a magnificent job of setting everything up for the event.
He was there in a disguise. I didn't recognize him in his wide brimmed hat.
The Heights Highlites Newsletter hit the residents' mailboxes this week. 1 know that because as
soon as they were delivered the phones started ringing here at City Hall. We received several
calls and emails complimenting us on the content (which is always very welcome because we
usually do not get much, if any feed back). On the front page we alerted residents of the soon to
be implemented "No Parking 2am — 6am" ordinance. This article generated many complaint
calls. I received 25 myself and others were directed to the Police Department or handled by the
receptionists. We are expecting that some of these callers will show up at next weeks' City
Council meeting to take up their complaints directly with the City Council.
13�,\Zil51 N 51:3.70 tLeig1
Today kicks off the 50 Year Celebration. Council Member Duggan and his crew of volunteers
and City Staff have been working overtime to make sure everything is ready. The weatherman
sounds like he is going to cooperate and we will have perfect weather for the event. See you all
there!
Respectfully submitted,
Jim Danielson
Attachments: Pipeline, City Council Meeting Agenda, Pioneer Press Article "Pilot Knob's
history spared", South-West Review Article "MH to celebrate its golden anniversary June 2-3",
"Sun Newspapers Article "Neighborhoods to square off in Mendota Heights" and "Mendota
Heights to celebrate 50th anniversary".
The alarm at the LHydale loft station went off Friday morning. The
fliers neede i c�eaningo dental 'loss was tangled an the floats. Rich
cleaned the saNtary sewer lines on Maple Park, Arcadia, Woodridae,
Maple Park Court, and Cascade Lane. Rich linspect-ed the sanitary
sewer lone for four new homes at the Opus job site.
The Engineering Department has stared surveying last year's
construction projects to complete its ;s-buHt drawings.
gs.
Guy and Public Works helped set up for the Pilot Knob dedication
ceremony and Sam was busy taking pictures of the event.
June 6, 2006 — 7:30 P.M.
le .
2. Roll Call
a. Acknowledgement of the May 23, 2006 Planning Commission Minutes.
b. Acknowledgement of the May 2006 Building Activity Report.
c. Authorization for staff to prepare a letter and a resolution supporting Dakota County 2007-
2011 CIP Requests.
d. Authorization for City Administrator to execute acceptance letter to Xcel Energy for
Temporary Construction Easements.
e. Authorization for Purchase Agreement for Sale of City Property to Excel Energy
f. Authorization for Hiring of Police Officer.
g. Authorization for Replacement and Hiring of Police Secretary
h. Authorization to solicit bids for Breathing Air Compressor.
i. Approval of Sanitary Sewer Backup Claim.
j. Approval of Sign Permit Face Change, 1200 Mendota Heights Road, SuperAmerica.
k. Approval of Amendment to the Dakota County Fire Mutual Aid Agreement.
I. Adoption of RESOLUTION NO. 06-37 0 "RESOLUTION APP OVI FINAL PLANS AND
SPECIFICATIONS, AND AUTHORIZING ADVERTISEMENT FOR SIDS FOR
IMPROVEMENTS TO DELAWARE AVENUE FROM DODD ROAD TANNAPOLIS
STREET (PROJECT #200523)'
m. Adoption of RESOLUTION NO. 06-38 e "A RESOLUTION GRANTING A VARIANCE TO
ST. THOMAS ACADEMY ALLOWING THEIR AIRDOME TO REMAIN INFLATED
CONTINUOUSLY".
n. Approval of List of Contractors.
o. Approval of List of Claims.
"No Parking" Complaints
a. Off -Sale Liquor License Renewal for Mendota Liquor.
b. Off -Sale Liquor License Renewal for The Wine Market.
c. On -Sale Wine License for Ziggy's Cafe.
d. On -Sale Limited Service Hotel License Renewal for Courtyard by Marriott.
e. On -Sale Wine Institutional License Renewal for Brown College (Minnesota Room).
f. On -Sale Club Liquor License Renewals Somerset Country Club and Mendakota Country
Club.
f. 2006 Street Reconstruction Project — RESOLUTION NO. 06-390 "RESOLUTION
ORDERING OF IMPROVMEENT PROJECT PREPARATION OF PLANS AND
SPECIFICATIONS FOR STREET RECONSTRUCTION IMPROVMENTS ON
WOODRIDGE DRIVE, ARCADIA DRIVE, MAPLE PARK COURT, FALLS VIEW
COURT, CASCADE LANE, MAPLE PARK DRIVE FROM SYLVANDALE TO
CASCADE LANE, MAPLE PARK DRIVE FROM l S 'L ANDALE TO CASCADE AND
SYL 'A DALE ROAD"
AD"
CO;��TRACT FOP' INDUST' IAL P A�;i� STREE i- REI-fA fLITATIO A D CITE' HALL
PA; KI�vG LOT (i PRO E E T iOO. 2�d5riJ2)'
'�' �fifl IISIit?C�1 C3:1Ci} "�«�"`J �1151f1�SS
a. Case No. 06-00o Diane K. Wilkie, 739 Cheyenne Lane, Front Yard Setback Variance
for a Garage Addition. RESOLUTION NO. 06-41°"A RESOLUTION APPROVING A
FRONT YARD SETBACK VARIANCE FOR A GARAGE ADDITION AT 739
CHEYENNE LANE".
b. Case No. 06-13. Kevin Gardner (on behalf of James Hanson), 796 Sibley Memorial
Highway, Critical Area Permit for Grading of Fill and Driveway Re -Alignment and Paving.
RESOLUT9ON NO. 06-420 "A RESOLUTION APPROVING A CRITICAL ARRA
PERMIT FOR GRADING OF FILL AND DRIVEWAY RE -ALIGNMENT AND PAVING
AT 706 SIDLEY MEMORIAL HIGHWAY".
c. Case No. 06-14. Ryan C. Burns, 906 Nina Court, CUP for a Six -Foot Fence.
RESOLUTION NO. 06-430 66A RESOLUTION APPROVING A CONDITIONAL USE
PERMIT FOR A SIX-FOOT FENCE AT 006 NINA COURT".
d. Case no. 06-15. Thomas W. Ullman, 651 First Avenue, CUP and Variance for a
Detached Garage. RESOLUTION NO. 06-440 66A RESOLUTION APPROVING A
CONDITIONAL USE PMERIT AND VARIANCE FOR A DETACHED GARAGE AT 651
FIRST AVENUE
e. Case No. 06-16a Thomas R. Wohlers, 2218 Lexington Avenue South, CUP for an
Accessory Structure. RESOLUTION NO. 06-45, 66A RESOLUTION APPROVING A
CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT FOR AN ACCESSORY STRUCTURE AT 2210
LEXINGTON AVENUE SOUTH
f. Case No. 06-17. Ronald W. Buelow, 1666 Mayfield Heights Road, Critical Area Permit
for Fencing and a Free -Standing Address Number Sign. "RCS0LUJTIDI`9 MO. 06-46="A
RESOLUTION APPROVING A CRITICAL AREA PERMIT FOR FENCING AND A
FREE=STANDING DDR,ESS NUMBER SIGN AT 1666 MAYFIELD HEIGHTS ROAD
g. Case No. 06-18. Steven J. Weintraut, 869 Mendakota Court, Wetlands Permit for
Vegetation Removal and Various lmprovements. RESOLUTION NO. 06-47• "A
RESOLUTION APPROVING A WETLANDS PERMIT FOR VEGETATION REMOVAL
AND VARIOUS WFROVEMENTS AT 860 MEND A NOTA COURT".
h. Discussion of "5-199 Zone Interpretation — Turners Gymnastics Building.
Discussion of Fire Department Workshop.
Rescheduling of July 4 Meeting
11. Council Comments
AC•ajc}�ar�r�
Ai li ry aids for persons • . ith disabilities are availl Bbl" upon request u t a t least 1200 hours s in
advance. .'lei". if a notice Of less than 120 hours is received, the City of Mendota Heights will ma
4G'
every i" attempt t0 provide the iC•! however, this may not be•)^44!i•7! Oil short notice. a1" 25?
contact City Administration ration at 452-1850 with requests. Thismeeting is being taped by NDC
(651-450-9891)'and will replay onI-}"}CII y E: :•.iii iCf :tf p.m.'v Zthe l�r '•v ilE1;'
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Pilot Knob's history spared
Posted on Fri, Jun. 02, 2006
Pilot Knob's history spared
Celebr,atiort tT,�arks preservation success
For Jim Anderson, saving Pilot Knob is more than simply preserving green space.
Page 1 of 2
The Mendota Heights hill that overlooks the Minneapolis skyline, Historic Fort Snelling and the Minnesota and Mississippi
river valleys is where his Mdewakanton ancestors are buried. On Thursday, 8.5 acres of it was officially opened to the
public.
"My people believed in finding the highest plateau to bury the dead because we want to be as close to the Creator as
possible," Anderson said. "Because of that, there are tribal chiefs buried at this site. It's sacred and significant to my
people."
Dakota Indians call Pilot Knob oheyawahi, "the hill much visited," and now the public can do just that. After years of
negotiations, a No Trespassing sign was taken down Thursday during a ceremony attended by about 100 people.
"It's such a beautiful and sacred site," said Jennifer Otto, a Mendota Heights resident. "It's taking back a part of nature that
was close to being lost."
A development of 157 town houses had been planned for the parcel, which sits adjacent to Acacia Park Cemetery. The
controversial plans prompted the city of Mendota Heights and the Trust for Public Land — a national organization that works
to preserve natural areas in urban settings — to purchase the land and secure its natural habitat. They, along with Dakota
County and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, bought the 8.5 acres for $1.97 million in December to
maintain it as open space.
The next step for Mendota Heights is restoring the land to its mid -1800s prairie vegetation and habitat — an effort that's
expected to cost nearly $140,000. City Administrator Jim Danielson said most of the money will come from donations.
The project will include burning the land to clear it of foreign plant species and planting native vegetation like prairie rose,
wild onion and red willow.
"The natural vegetation is important to the Native Americans," Anderson said. "They used the red willow trees that used to
grow here to make pipes and burned the sage during traditional ceremonies."
Obtaining the 8.5 acres was the first step for preservationists.
Edina -based Minnstar Builders Inc. still has the option of buying an additional 17 acres of the 100 -acre hill from Acacia Park
Cemetery. The cemetery occupies the remaining 75 acres of Pilot Knob. Property adjacent to the hill was also once Indian
burial grounds.
Anderson said that efforts to deter the plans for developing the 17 acres will take place when the time comes.
"We'll fight it until the very end," he said.
Gail Lewellan, president of the Pilot Knob Preservation Association, said this is the first step to maintaining the past and
present for the future.
"This area has so much historical, cultural and ecological issues to it," she said. "We've saved an important part of our city's
history."
A new sign welcoming visitors and detailing the preservation effort graces the mostly vacant scenic plot of land.
"We're closer to how our ancestors wanted it to be," Anderson said. "Maybe one day, if possible, we can bury our people
here again."
http://www.twincities. comlmldltwincitieslbusinesslindustries/environment/ 14720205.htm?t... 6/2/2006
"My people believed in finding the highest plateau to bury the dead
becausewe want to be as close to the Creator as possible.
Because of that, there are tribal chiefs buried at this site.
It's sacred and significant to my people."
Jim Anderson;'on the Pilot Knob site in Mendota Heights.
"It's such a beautiful and sacred site.
It's`takulg backs partof nature hat was close to being lost."
J. hife`r. Otto, Mendota Heights resident
BM• gM4 S '�£� i`y LT 3'E' S' SH] S.Le.+"
JOHN DOMAN, PIONEER PRESS
Amerucan andoan �9sic�lan E�9iitch Walling Iiia sings a CheyennefArapahoe "thanking" song
before the start of Thursday's Pilot Knob dedication ceremony in Mendota, Heights. Some 100
People attended the ceremony to open $.5 preserved acres of the historic 10.0 -acre hill overlooking 5
the Mississippi and Minnesota river valleys and the Minneapolis, skyline.
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44
- • • • • • • 1 • • • . •
BY GRANT BOaELTER - SUN NEWSPAPERS
On the weekend of its 50th Anniversary Celebration, Mendota Heights will have its very own "Sweet
16."
While the city will be celebrating as one, 16 neighborhoods as determined by the city's Police
Department will square off against each other in a sports competition 1:30-4 p.m. Saturday, June 3,
in Mendakota Park.
Mendota Heights Councilmember Ultan Duggan, who had a hand in organizing the event, said the
competition should give residents a chance to meet with neighbors to enjoy a little friendly
competition. The events are designed for "ages 14 to 84 approximately," he said. The event will fit in
perfectly with the theme for the festival, which is "Building Neighborhoods, Building the City," said
Duggan.
The city is hoping to get at least three participants from each of the 16 neighborhoods, and will not
turn away anyone who is willing to participate.
The events vary from traditional contests, such as a sack race and beanbag toss, to a golf -chipping
contest to a paper airplane toss for those with expertise in mechanical engineering.
Duggan is encouraging neighbors to get together in anticipation of the event. He is envisioning
neighborhoods making team shirts or creating team names that would tie in with the name of the
neighborhood.
An interesting twist to the competition is that many of the city's northern neighborhoods are filled
with residents who have been anchored in the city since near its beginning, while the southern
neighborhoods are much newer, said Duggan.
0
The light sports competition wilk be just one of the highlights of the weekend's festivities.
The celebration will kick off with an adult -themed block party 7-10 p.m. Friday, June 2, at the Tillage
at Mendota Heights, at the intersection of Highway 110 and Dodd Road.
For $10, those interested will be able to enjoy samples from area businesses. Wine, cheese, coffee
and ice cream will be some of the items available to partygoers, said Duggan. The group "Six Below"
will provide the music for the party.
The entry fee for the party is basically to cover material costs that both the city and the businesses
have put into the celebration, said Duggan.
A parade will roll through the streets of the city Saturday afternoon featuring the St. Thomas
Academy Color Guard, the Henry Sibley High School band, classic cars and past politicians and
dignitaries.
The festival will come to a close with a free dance after the parade that will go until 11 p.m. Among
the highlights of the dance will be salsa lessons early in the evening to a concert by "The Rockin'
Hollywoods," which will begin around 7:30 p.m.
What:Light Sports Competition, as part of Mendota Heights' 50th Anniversary celebration
When: 1:30-4 p.m. Saturday, June 2
Where:Mendakota Park
Interested in participating: Contact City Hall at 651-452-1850
Information/celebration schedule: www.mendota-heights.com
Sun Newspapers - MNSUN.com - Mendota Heights to celebrate 50th anniversary Page 1 of 3
,,SUN I Print Page
44 cc.amu,.Oty
BY GRANT BOELTER - SUN NEWSPAPERS
While Mendota Heights is celebrating its 50th anniversary as a city, the history of the land it occupies
stretches much further into the past.
With its first occupants Native Americans, Mendota Heights has transformed from military post to
dairy land to cozy suburb.
The city will celebrate its heritage over the weekend of June 2 with dances, a parade and a gathering
of more than 60 residents who have been with the city since it incorporated in 1956.
"By kind of a quirk of fate, Mendota Heights is kind of one of the oldest places in Minnesota," said
local historian Bill Wolston, who also has lived in Mendota Heights for the entire time it has been a
city.
In 1805, the United States acquired half of what is now Mendota Heights from the Mdewakanton
Dakota Indians. Zebulon Pike, who was sent by President Thomas Jefferson to explore the northern
reaches of the Mississippi River, signed a treaty with Mdewakanton leaders near the meeting point of
the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers.
The land that was acquired was to become the site for Fort Snelling and stretched up to St. Anthony
Falls on the Mississippi.
Mendota Heights soon became a major hub for transportation along the two rivers. "Everything that
was coming from the west side of the Mississippi River went through Mendota Heights," said Wolston.
Multiple trader roads also converged at Mendota Heights
Picnic Island, now a Mendota Heights park which can be accessed only from the other side of the
river, became a major stop for river -going vessels. A ferry also ran across the river from Picnic Island
from 1839 to the construction of the Mendota Bridge in 1926.
Many of the first settlers in what was known as Mendota Township were French traders who stayed
and developed farms, said Wolston. Most of the farms were truck and dairy farms.
The center of the township in the early days was at the Dodd Road and Mendota Heights Road
intersection, where the first town hall stood.
After World War II, Mendota Township outgrew its township status. Its population was more than
2,000 in 1950 and it was growing rapidly.
The township was using fire services from St. Paul, but the city said it could no longer provide
services to a growing suburban area.
By late 1955, a housing development by the name of Friendly Hills promised to bring 400 new homes
to the area. At that point, "it was just too big for a township form of government," said Wolston.
On Feb. 20, 1956, a vote was taken by the residents of Mendota Township on whether or not they
wanted to become a city. The residents voted 577-265 to incorporate and the city of Mendota Heights
was born. Robert Edman was voted the city's first mayor.
Wolston, who moved to Mendota Heights from St. Paul's West Side two years before it incorporated,
said a big reason for the move outward to the suburbs was the mass of soldiers returning from World
War II and looking for a place to start their new families.
http://www.mnsun.com/articles/2006/05/25/news/cl25mhanny.prt 6/2/2006
Sun Newspapers - MNSUN.com - Mendota Heights to celebrate 50th anniversary Page 2 of 3
He said the G.I. Bill offered former soldiers, himself one of them, good rates on home loans and it
was difficult to find housing within the limits of the big city. Many of the people moving into houses in
Mendota Heights had migrated from the West Side, said Wolston.
In the early days of the city, Wolston said residents pitched in and formed neighborhood associations
to get the city off the ground. It was not uncommon to see residents oiling the streets themselves to
make the roads better for the neighborhood, he said.
School -aged children had the choice of attending Humboldt High School in St. Paul, South St. Paul
High School or Rosemount High School if they lived in the southern part of the city, said Wolston.
Also, some students went across the river to Minneapolis schools. A popular hangout for youth during
that age was a movie theater at Fort Snelling.
Henry Sibley High School opened in the fall of 1971 so residents had a public school a little closer to
home, while St. Thomas Academy and Visitation School have been around since the late 1800s.
While Mendota Heights was once farmland, the city is now near capacity development and as of the
2000 census, 10,200 residents called it home.
Looking back, Wolston said the city followed an organized pattern of growth that has worked out well.
"They weren't just trying to get a lot of people and a lot of business," he said. "They were trying to do
it in a focused way."
Along with city leadership, he credited those old neighborhood groups, adding that a Mendota Heights
Jaycee chapter won national awards just shortly after the city incorporated.
He also pointed to the city's willingness to preserve open space and parks as a positive of living in the
community. Specifically he lauded the City Council and other organizations that fought to preserve
the historic Pilot Knob during the past year,
Since he landed in Mendota Heights over a half century ago, he has seen no reason to leave.
"I guess if you feel you're in a good place, you stay there," said Wolston. "If I've gathered up this
much history, I don't want to start all over."