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2007-04-06 Friday NewsSAGE MARKET AND WINE BAR At this Tuesday's meeting the City Council approved a request from Bob .•1;:a:° ° Kowalski, of Sage Market to have sidewalk tables this summer. Global warming is not cooperating this year and the temperature has been running about 20 degrees below normal. Once the weather improves, you will now be able to eat your sandwiches outside at the Sage Market. BATTER UPM City Council approved construction of two batting cages at the Civic Center field west of City Hall. The outfield fence will be relocated twenty feet closer to home plate, to a distance of 250 feet from home plate, and the cages will be built outside the outfield fence beyond the first and third base foul lines. Construction must wait until "Spring Road Restrictions" are lifted towards the end of April. Public Works plans to do part of the work and private contractors will complete the majority of the necessary tasks. Weather permitting and favorable schedules from subcontractors could allow the cages to be in use in mid-May. PAR 3 UPDATE Election Day is rapidly approaching for the Par 3 referendum ° vote. So far 70 absentee ballots have been turned in. I am not sure if the course has been open for business yet, but several of us at City Hall have noticed players on the course. The Vote No Committee held a strategy meeting at City Hall this Thursday evening with about 25-30 people showing up. Committee meets next Monday evening. The Vote Yes All the employees at City Hall wish everyone a Happy Easter and Passover! Respectfully submitted, James Danielson City Administrator Attachments: Pipeline, Just the Facts, SW Review Article "MH park upgrades cost pretty penny", Sun Current Article "Vote to keep Par 3", Villager and Pioneer Press Articles "Mendota Heights to vote on city's purchase of golf course", and "Backing the Par 3", Minnesota Golfer Article "Spring Has Sprung — Play Golf Minnesota!" Spring Clean -Up Flyer and Mock Crash Flyer and Friday Fax. Public Works The Parks Crew picked up a downed tree at Marie Park and chipped it up. Burned out light bulbs were replaced on the buildings at Mendakota and Kensington Parks. Water meters were installed in the buildings at Mendakota and Kensington Parks. Steel track barrels were picked up for the parks. Unit #506's broom was changed out for next season and put in the water tower for summer storage. Rich cut roots in the sanitary sewer line on Caren Road, the Caren Road easement down to Highway 13. Grease was cleaned off the floats at the Veronica lift station. The Street Crew cleaned catch basins. Handicap parking signs were replaced in Town Center as they did not meet state requirements. A stop sign and street name sign was removed after being hit be a vehicle at Sutton Lane and Marie Avenue. A bad spinner motor on sander #303 was repaired. Snow Events of the Week: Date: Amount: Response: April 3, 2007 Dusting Sand main lines with a 2:30 A.M. start St. Paul Water Regional Services has begun replacing hydrants in Ivy Falls for the street reconstruction project. Tom met with Tim Hanson and a representative from Xcel Energy regarding the power lines for the Dodd Road trail. Dakota County has included Lexington Avenue from TH 110 to TH 13 to their overlay projects to be completed this summer. 04-06-2007 ®,m 04-06-2007 he agreed to provide a breath test. The test revealed a BAC of.18. The party was released to a sober friend. Burglary 04-03-070 0756 hours Officer Eric Petersen responded to a residential burglary call. Upon arrival he met with the victim and began investigating the break in. He could not find any indications that force had been used to enter the garage. The victim made a list of what was taken. In tracking the suspects, Officer Petersen located some physical evidence in spite of the steady rain that had occurred the past several days. After preserving the evidence, he began to canvas the area and began locating property that had been taken during the break-in. A short time later, the victim called to report that she had identified one of th items as not missing and was advised that Officer Petersen had the rest of he property and would make arrangements to return it. He also located some propert that would not be reported missing until 1600 hours. Dumping Complaint 04-03-07 1445 hours A local business discovered their dumpster filled with garbage and furniture that was not their own. Further inspection of the contents produced an assortment of property containing suspect identification. Officer Petersen contacted the Chisago County Sheriff's Office and received some information on the suspects. Investigator Patrick is following up. Theft 04-03-07 1455 hours Caller reported to Sergeant Donn Anderson that his vehicle was taken on 03-22-07 without permission. The suspect is the same female friend (exotic dancer) who has taken the car the last two times. The victim is upset because this time he left his checkbook in the car and now someone is writing checks. Victim was advised to contact the bank and then provide information as to what was occurring with the checks. No further information provided. Theft / Criminal Damage 04-03-07 1600 hours Officer Eric Petersen responded to a theft from vehicle call. Upon arrival he met with the victim who reported parking his vehicle in the driveway® around 0200 hours. His mother awoke to find that a window was smashed out of it. In checking, the in -dash stereo was gone as were the speakers. Officer Petersen advised that he had recovered some of the property earlier in the day and it was in the property room at MHPD. The case has been referred to investigations for follow up. 4t" Degree DUI 04-04-07 2318 hours Officer Jeff VonFeldt responded the area of Hwy 13 and Pilot Knob Rd about a car that was slowing to nearly stopped and then accelerating. The caller stated they nearly hit the curb and were having a terrible time. The car was pulled over when Officer VonFeldt spotted it on the side of the road. When he approached the car, he could see a female in the driver's seat. She was leaning over to the front seat passenger. The smell of alcohol was evident outside of the car. The driver could barely stand, but she managed to hold a foot off the ground for a one -count. The more perilous field tests that required movement were not done. The party was arrested and read the MN Implied Consent Advisory. She agreed to provide a breath test. The test revealed a .08 BAC. After being read Miranda, the party admitted to taking a sleep aid (Ambien) with her wine. She was cited for DUI. Am aPWtO"AW/ /#/'ia day, April 1, 2007 S /' I^ 1�'i.. f� a"'z pretty pennIT Y New battingcage, [ a:signs :. rol' Seth Loy news editor This summer, the 1,600 kids reg- istered for Mendota Heights Little League baseball will finally have enough practice space. The City Council March 20 approved spending $21,000 to bring in the Civic Center ballpark's outfield fence so that ballplayers have enough room for batting and pitching warm-up. Jake Sedlacek, assistant to the city administrator, says the Men- dota Heights Athletic Association (MHAA) plans to move the fence to make way for a batting cage. Additional funding requests the council members turned down Tuesday: bench shelters at the Civic Center baseball diamond; and a new fence, backstop with netting and covered dugouts at Hagstrom-King Park. "The MHAA has prioritized the Civic Center site as the best site," Sedlacek says. "It gets scheduled pretty full, and when they're on the field, there's no where for [teams] to practice. The real issue is the need for a batting cage." Pat Sienko, baseball commis- sioner for MHAA, said that draw- ing rawing in the outfield fence should give players adequate practice space, . "Moving the fence in would not hinder the' game at all. Weare see Park on page 5A ami O . 5 0 cd w o o H oa r, o m � F," N U •� cilia' , m 9 O `� � � y Qt v O y cd Q A 0 `� U �9 vim�', o - a .", C2aN •po� �� CO E+ U . �+ R 0 O rn y y ct^ 3+ a> C lot : p, O O ,� a� y Q) °°tom o y �`�,0 0-c�='v,CO v� • `� j ed N. ° oaa�� ami42 r-4 +� N� �� s OC4 Ow p, C/1 0 0 o . a �' + P-4 Cd 10 0 - 0 aoU .wCZ al !S OW 7C5 rn cd mW. a) P+ ,si cd a� a3 c P, +, . U J9 4' Cn 0 R4 to N^ a� ...ter 4"' ,x O N ' m ' >- i- •p1) -m 0 O. m v w N �O U M A :fir OA m O ti a> ca m �� 0 Is w '� ° as m �. COD P4 P4 8 0 o i,, FI v P; ] 41 Q O .o y o aye LI 'tZ ID 0, A ¢.-•'OA`' " 0. Q) 0`. � bi0. N 0 m CO is :0 v N p ly m WO u o 0 o al P4.04 P4 ago - y ... O � � `0 ' Cd r 0 0 p b' ,v? 7' Shy 0 441 y .. i� cd c�i ami . a0 0. o E'' a°�i o �.. _. .t7 •� v Vote. t® keep Par I To the ;editor; Voting yes for the Par 3 will preserve the golf course and maintain our city's open space for future generations. As Will Rogers said, "Buy land. They ain't making any more of the stuff."' The. question is: Do you wish the Par 3 property to become another housing'devel opment? Or do you wish to keep the Par 3 as.. the-community gem that it has been for years? Voting yes will preserve the golf course. while -slightly increasing property taxes: about $50 per year for 15 years, or $4 per month. That small investment will yield a huge return in the parkland and open space essential to the pro -family environment and strong sense of community we enjoy in Mendota Heights. Voting no means it will be sold to devel- opers. Some believe that the additional Homes will generate additional , revenge from property taxes. - However, the incremental revenue is minimal and most will be used to expand city services - water, sewer, police.- to the new development. The course averaged $54,000 in profit over the last 11 years, funds that can be used to cover capital improvements. We . can also expand its uses to special city golf events and cross country ski trails. if the city's interests change, the risk is minimal because the city is purchasing the land for less than market value and can always sell it later at a profit. SaIly Lorberbaum Mendota Heights ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS WWW.TWINCITIES.COM 4�-0-71 11� Give the Par 3 a chance. Pre- serve this rare open space and valuable recreational opportuni- ty for everyone, including seniors and kids who find this golf course best for their needs. If we give up now, all this is lost forev F er. We should try r= municipal owner- ship by the city of Mendota Heights a� The Mendota Heights City Council has repeat- edly demonstrated careful and practical financial stewardship. While my information is that G� 007 Voters in ivlrndota Heights will head to the polls on April 24 to decide whether or not the city should spend $2.79 million to purchase and improve the 17 -acre Mendota Heights Par 3 Golf Course at 1695 Dodd Road. If the referendum passes, the city would issue general obligation bonds to purchase the property for $2.6 million and use the re- ma_ming $190,000 to upgrade the course and equipment. The term of the bonds would be 1.5 years. The annual property tax increase we ild be $43 on a $300,000 home and $72 on a $ 500,000 home. voters fail to approve the acquisition, -Hers Alan Spaulding and Mike Cashill plan sell the property to a housing developer. a'. site could be occupied by up to 19 resi- ces. About a third of the area would have =e kept as open space. roponents of the referendum say Men- ro=a Heights needs to retain what open space it has. Opponents say golf is losing popular- ity and the city would be better served by the increase in property tax revenue that would result by developing the site for housing. P-11- __U from 7.00 a m .o 9:00 rvaas VVM U, open �. . p.m. on April 24 at Somerset Elementary, City Hall, Mendota Elementary St. PauPs United Methodist Church and Friendly Hills. For more information, call 651-452-1850. New Briefly was compiled by Jane McClure, Date Mischke and John Wadell. publicly owned golf courses are doing quite well, if this proves not to be the case, we can always convert the golf course to anoth- er use later on. The Mendota Heights City Council can .be trusted to do this. There are things that we citi- zens can best do working togeth- er. Saving the Par 3 is one of them. Vote "yes" on April 24. BOB GARLAND Mendota Heights Spring Has Sprung— Play Golf, Minnesota! erving up the proverbial first shot of the golf season is a fleeting proposition. Unlike the opening pitch or the fishing opener, there isn't an official opening moment each spring. So, golf is turning to a ceremonial opener—Play Golf Minnesota at Rush Creek Golf Club in Maple Grove on April 28 (see page 34 for more). Maybe a certain Minnesotan chief executive will tee one up and help folks start thinking about golf. Some years ago on a sunny, cool opening day at Dahlgreen Golf Club in Chaska, several golfers waited for their first official swing of the year. While my foursome was on deck, a golfer stuck his tee in the ground, straightened up, took a few waggles with his driver and then took a great big rip at the ball. As if in slow motion the club left his hands, the ball zinged over the spongy turf into the leafless, naked trees, and the man clutched his back as he collapsed on the ground. "I wasn't expecting that," someone mumbled, unsettled by the back spasms that brought the man down. Happily, all golfers get the proverbial first shot and the promise of many glorious golf rounds to follow. Not so for golfer Erin Haider, 11, who's worried that her opening days at the Mendota Heights par 3 are numbered. She put her signature to a well - crafted letter to the editor (St. Paul Pioneer Press, Feb. 15, 2007), poignantly recounting how the course was home to her first golf lesson and summer league, a refuge for wetland critters, a place where Haider could sell lemonade to thirsty golfers and watch families at play on the course, in summer, or sledding the snowy hills in wintertime. After a battle fought at the state supreme court level, the mayor wants to put the By W. P. Ryan question to voters—keep the par 3 open or allow the land to be developed for housing? The golf industry has no answer to the contradictions wrapped up in an "open or close" scenario, such as that the voters of Mendota Heights are about to decide. It's a prospect that some welcome: Course closings instantly free up thousands of golf rounds that other golf courses will gladly absorb. One insider suggests that if closing a golf course were quick and simple, then a handful of courses in the Twin Cities would shut down, freeing up some 100,000 golf rounds. All of which suggests that a correction between the forces of supply and demand is inevitable. What's more, at least to this observer, it suggests that we in the golf industry sorely lack the tools to manage growth. Closing a course may make other courses more financially sound, but it comes at a cost. For to shut down a par 3 like Mendota Heights, along with its junior golf lessons and summer leagues, means we diminish the crop of future golfers—boys and girls like Haider—who are the future of the game. If kids could vote in Mendota Heights, Haider asserts, they would vote to keep the par 3 open. I know many golf stakeholders, including golf course operators, share the same passionate feelings. Golf, like life, is complicated. See you on the tee. W.P. Ryan Editor -in -Chief www.mngolf.org 8 MINNESOTAGOLFER April/May 2007 Mendota Heights Spring Clean -Up "AAA& Saturday, May 5: 8 Make the most of your spring cleaning! Mendota Plaza, Highway 110 and Dodd Road — enter and exit from South Plaza Drive Open to Mendota Heights residents only: • ID is required • Cars, Pick-ups and small trailers only We will accept: • Car tires, furniture, mattresses • Scrap Metals (remove all non-metal) • Home remodeling debris/misc. junk ® Electronics Examples: 27" TV— approximately $18 Computer — approximately $10 ® Bicycles — to be re -used by Re -Cycle • Shoesffl — to be re -used by Wipers $3 each Volume -based fee Volume -based fee $35 per pound We will not • Yard waste • Items that can be recycled at your curb ® Commercial or contractor debris • Household Hazardous Waste (motor oil, batteries, paint, household chemicals, etc. Spring Clean -Up is made possible by a grant from Dakota County Envirnomental Management, the Dakota County Board of Commissioners and the Minnesota OEAIWCA Special Thanks to Mendota Plaza (Paster Enterprises) for hosting the Clean -Up again this year! No Parent wants that 2 am phone call from the police . 0 0 West St® Paul, MN A dramatic portrayal event for parents and community members demonstrating what can happen Impact Speakers. -- ON C when -underage drinking occurs., 6:30-7:30 pm Mock Crash Demo L- 7:30-8-.30 pm Impact Speakers and Resources Rain or Shine Feel free to bring your own lawn chair! Presented to you by: ISD #197 Chemical Health, Saint Thomas Academy, Visitation High School, South St. Paul Healthy Youth Coalition, and the Dakota County Attorney Apr HS ZOH7 16:0623 Vid FdX _> 65145ZB940 Administrdtar Pd9E HH1 Of OHI 7;:' mc -Fri da..YF L W7 F.—g— .-� Al L* CIVitrA from the League of Minnesota Cities .4 weekly legislative updatef .J April 5, 2007 Page 1 Recess: A breather or calm before the Committee and Ways and Means Committee storm? Due to this week's legislative recess, capitol news has temporarily slowed to a crawl. The House finished its work on Monday while the Senate finished its work last Saturday. Both bodies will return to St. Paul on Tuesday, April 10 to begin the final six-week thrust toward completion of the 2007 legislative session. As it now stands, the Senate has completed floor action on all of their major appropriations bills, the omnibus tax bill and the education funding/income tax increase bill. Senate policy committees will continue to meet up to their Saturday, April 14 policy committee deadline. The House, on the other hand, has completed committee action on policy bills but will be playing catch-up on appropriations bills and the omnibus tax bill. House policy committees met their first and second policy committee deadlines on March 23 while the divisions of the House Finance Committee met the third committee deadline by processing their omnibus bills this past Monday and sent them to the full 1,Jriance C'.'o:rnY,,nJt*U*.,e_ We expect many of those bills to be processed by the y�i - � ')Jeaus Corrunittee and the Tax .1 _j .�j . . . ............ ............. . ........ ..... . . .. I ........... ............. . ...... ........ famr-nittee and then make it to the floor in the next two weeks. In the preliminary committee schedule, the only House committee that has announced hearings will announce aggressive hearing schedules for next week. In addition to these likely protracted committee hearings, the House is expected to spend a significant amount of time on the floor over the next two weeks processing their major omnibus bills. This schedule would suggest that the major conference committees will convene by mid-April. In the Senate, a number of policy committee hearings have been announced for next week, but compared to the past two weeks, the schedule appears to be light. To view the House and Senate schedules for the coming week, please visit www. leg.. state.rrin.us. Although your League lobbying staff has greatly appreciated the spring recess, the short term benefits could be quickly replaced with a new set of issues when rejuvenated legislators return to St. Paul. Given the political rancor that has erupted over the past two weeks, we suspect that many legislators will return to St. Paul with a fresh, constituent -influenced perspective that will likely impact the tenor and agenda of the final six weeks. In addition, even though the legislature can move quickly at times, the threat of gubernatorial vetoes of many of the major tax and spending bills could push this session right up to the final May 21 adjournment date. We suspect that all of these factors will yield an all- out sprint to the finish. for next week is the Tax Committee, which will Questions? Contact Gary Carlson at be meeting each day from Tuesday through 651.281,1255 or gcarlson@lmnc.org. Friday to consider more than 30 bills. The Tax Committee has also announced a Saturday hearing that could be used to unveil their version of the omnibus tax bill. We expect that other committees, including the Finance For more information on city legislative issues, contact any member of the League of Minnesota Cities Intergovernmental Relations team. 651.281.1200 or 800.925.1122