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Issue 10 - Heights Highlights Fall 1987PAGE 1 FALL, 1987 ISSUE 10 COUNCIL ADOPTS 1988 CITY BUDGET: REDUCES MILL RATE The City Council has adopted a 1988 budget that responds to on-going com- munity growth, and the need for addition- al City services, while keeping our tax rate one of the lowest in the metropolitan area. Parks are a dominant theme in the budget. We will be submitting a parks bond referendum to the voters during the Spring, which if approved, will add a bicycle/pedestrian system and major ath- letic complex to the community, as well as making improvements to existing neigh- borhood parks. We will also be hiring a landscape architect to develop a master landscaping plan for the neighborhood parks, and expect to implement that plan over the next few years. We will begin a boulevard tree planting gram, whereby the City will provide ncial assistance to homeowners and neighborhoods who wish to have more trees in the public right of way along their property. As a result of the adopted budget, those who vote in the Primary and General elec- tions next Fall will be using state-of-the-art optical scan voting equipment. The system electronically tabulates ballots as they are dropped into the ballot box. Ballots with errors (i.e. voting too many choices, or cross party voting in the Primary) will be rejected, and the voter given an oppor- tunity to vote again. Best of all, election results will be available within 30 minutes of poll closing at 8:00. Because of the phenomenal growth in new construction in the City, the 1988 budget adds a second full-time building and code enforcement officer. The City has pre- viously relied on part-time summer help only. Other expenses include the cost of moving into and beginning to operate a new City Hall around August 1, and develop- ment of a management program to do a better job of maintaining our storm sewer, ditch, and pond system. i'.Oil 1111 City offices will soon take a giant step for- ward in getting a home of their own. Final plans for a new City Hall have been ap- proved by a committee consisting of the City Council and three citizen representatives. The 19,000 square foot structure will be lo- cated at the northwest corner of Highway 110 and Lexington Avenue. The City's Ad- ministration, Police, Engineering and Building Inspection departments will move into the new building next fall. Planned public spaces include a 1,400 square foot Council Chamber and two conference rooms at 340 and 160 square feet. These facilities will be available for use by com- munity groups. Exterior finishes will be brick, stone and glass, with a cedar shake roof. An objec- tive of the Council has been to give the building a "residential' character so that it blends in well with surrounding neighbor- hoods. The construction contract was awarded on November 10th. October, 1988 com- pletion is anticipated. The General Fund budget total is $2,039,110, up a little more than 12% over the 1987 budget. However, much of the in- crease is funded with non -tax revenues, primarily building permits. The total property tax levy is up 7.3%. Perhaps the best news for Mendota Heights homeowners is that their tax bill will be little changed from 1987. Even though the tax levy is up 7.3%, we have en- joyed a growth in our assessed valuation of over 14% during the past year. As a result, we will be reducing the mill rate from 16.81 in 1987 to 16.00 in 1988. Those living in homes of average value (approximately $130,000) or less will enjoy a slight tax decrease, while higher valued homes will see a very modest increase (less than 2%). There will also be no increase in sewer rates for 1988. Ma",11MC"weI Several times over the past few years the City Council has debated whether to have a street light system throughout the city. Intersections illuminated by existing street lights do not constitute a planned system but are a result of reactions to citizen re- quests, staff input and inherited lights from State and County roads. The end of the debate has always been, with the ex- ception of correcting safety hazards, that Mendota Heights neighborhoods will remain in the dark. United Properties, the major landholder in the industrial park, requested that the city waiver from that policy in the commer- cial areas and install street lights. The Council agreed to allow the lights in the commerical areas, and lights will be in- stalled late this year or early in 1988. All costs for installing the lights will be as- sessed to the landowners in the commer- cial areas. Ongoing costs for electricity and maintenance will be recovered by a special tax levied against the benefitting properties. PAGE New Sergeant and Patrol Officer Hit the Street Captain Gene Lange, a 25 year veteran of the Police Department, retired in July. His vacancy caused some minor re -organiza- tion that included the assignment of Ser- geant Dorrance Wicks to the position of In- vestigator and the promotion of Officer Lar- rie Mack to the rank of Ser- geant. Mack, a former West St. Paul police officer, has been with Mendota Heights for nearly 8 years. His promotion brings the num- ber of Sergeants on the department to 3, and he will be the supervisor responsible for the afternoon hours. Dona Currie was hired to replace Mack as a patrol of - facer and has the distinction of being the department's first full-time female police of- ficer. Dona's experience in- V "" cludes 4 years f II with the Olmstead Coun- ty Sheriffs Of- fice and ten years service as a part-time police officer in Rochester, where she held the rank of Captain. Both Mack and Currie will serve a one year probation. Fire, Non -Emergency 454-3266 Police & Fire Emergency Only 911 MENDOTA HEIGHTS HIGHLITES New Cars - New Design The Department recently accepted delivery of its new squad cars and the of- ficers wanted a new look - something that would distinguish a Mendota Heights squad from those of neighboring com- munities. Officer Jeff Piotraschke and Sgt. Wicks put their heads together and came up with a design that was approved by their fellow officers. This "new" look will be ap- parent as the cars hit the street this month. FALL, 1987 It combines the clean and modern look of the predominately white squads that most departments favor with a roof, hood and trunk treatment creating a bit of a nostal- gic look back at the old "black and whites" of the past. The members of the department are pleased with the new and distinctive design. Watch for the "new look" in your rear view mirror and on the streets of Men- dota Heights, Mendota and Lilydale soon. yell� / . � Although many of us hate the thought of it, winter is right around the corner. This means different things to different people, but it means parking problems to the Public Works and Police Departments. Streets must be plowed as quickly and completely as is possible after a snowfall. In order to accomplish this task, we need your cooperation and compliance. Without your help we will end up with poorly main- tained streets and dangerous driving con- ditions. You will end up with a fine and possibly a towing bill. Here is an over view of the Ordinance that governs winter parking: You CANNOT park on the street, for over 30 minutes, during the time intervening between a snowfall of 2" or more and the removal of that snow. Simply stated, if it snows enough to require plowing, do not Dark on the street until that snow has been removed. If you do, the Police Department, or the Superintendent of Public Works has the right to have your vehicle immediately removed. The best all around action for you to consider is to keep your vehicles in the driveway or garage all of the time. This helps prevent thefts and damage to your vehicles, it makes patroll- ing the streets easier for the police officers, and it will help our street crews continue to keep our streets clean and dry during the months ahead. Do yourself and your neighbors a favor by removing your vehicles from the street. If you don't we may have to. _E1ga&Qi1QLir, It is also illegal to remove snow from your property and deposit it on public right-of-way. If you, or a contractor, plows your driveway and leaves the snow on the street, there is a very good chance that yau will get a ticket. Being a good neighbor and showing sorr common sense and courtesy will help us,. enjoy a more pleasant winter this year. PAGE 3 MENDOTA HEIGHTS HIGHLITES FALL, 1987 STRETCHED TO OUR LIMITS unprecedented level of development _.vity the City experienced last year has continued throughout the year. Public utilities and streets were installed to serve eleven new subdivisions so far this year, and plans and specifications are currently being prepared for two more projects which will be under construction late this year and be finished in the spring of 1988: Hampshire Estates, a 55 lot residential development located south of the Copper - field subdivisions, and the extension of Northland Drive east of Highway 55 to serve G & L Properties. The G & L plat is a 15 acre commercial/industrial develop- ment located at the southeast corner of Mendota Heights Road and T.H. 55. There are four residential subdivisions still in the planning stages for which con- struction of public improvements could begin next spring: Hillside Creek, a 12 lot, development planned for the open land near First Avenue and Clement., and Sibley Heights, a proposed 24 lot single family residential subdivision located at the intersection of Warrior Drive and the T.H. 110 North Frontage Road, near Sibley High School.. Victoria Highlands, being ,doped by Bream Homes, is planned for i._ 40 acre parcel located at the intersec- tion of Marie Avenue and Victoria Road. The developer proposes a Planned Unit Development to provide for construction of townhouses along Marie Avenue and single family dwellings on the north part of The Heights;Highlites is a government 11 staff members.' l If you or someone you know is not receiv `he newsletter, contact the City offices,', 1850) during City Office hours, 8:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. and the names or loca- tions will be added to our distribution. the land, adjacent to the Southridge development. By far the largest proposal that is in the planning stages involves the development of almost the entire southeast area of the city. This large acreage, owned by the Cen- tex Corporation, is proposed to be developed in conjunction with the Tandem Corporation, the company which developed all of the Copperfield areas, and the Centex Corporation. The developers currently propose a mix of townhomes and condominiums, a trail system and a neigh- borhood park. The project is in the sketch plan phase, and no approvals have been given by Council. The extensions of Men- dota Heights Road and Huber Drive to serve the southeast area of the city will begin this fall and be completed in the sum- mer of 1988, in time to serve as collector streets for newly generated traffic in the area. SKATING RINK OPERATIONS - DATES & TIMES Weather permitting, warming houses will be open from mid-December through mid- February. Warming house hours will be as follow: Monday through Friday, 4:00 to 9:00 P.M.; Saturday, 10:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M.; and Sunday, noon to 6:00 P.M. The rinks will be closed Christmas Day and New Year's Day. On school holidays, the daytime hours will be from noon to 5:00 P.M. and the evening hours will be from 6:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. WARMING HOUSE AND RINK LOCATIONS • Friendly Hills (south of Decorah on Pueblo Drive) • Wentworth (between Dodd and Wachtler) • Marie (west of Victoria) • Ivy Hills (off Butler and Ivy Hill Drive Rules will be posted at the rinks and each rink will have an attendant. Note: Rinks will be closed when the temperature is 10 degrees or less and when snowfall has not been cleared. Rinks are cleared of snow after all city streets have been plowed and sanded. NATURE'S FURY Everyone knows about the "Big Storm in July," and many are wondering what will be done about all the damage. There was some significant damage done throughout the city: both private and public assets were affected. City utilities suffered about $60,000 of damage, according to the Federal Emergency Management As- sociation, but the real costs to repair all the damage could be much higher. In addition to the multitude of basements that were flooded, one area of privately owned property suffered substantial damage - the Ivy Creek drainage way. The force of the water flowing in the creek washed out hundreds of trees and eroded the banks of the creek in numerous areas. City staff is considering possible solutions for this problem, but there are no easy ones. The creek is largely on private property, and there is no federal, state, or local money available for the repair of private lands. The City has completed the repair of some of the immediate damage to public utilities. In the coming months the less severe damage will be repaired. For- tunately, most of the cost of completing the repairs to public utilities will be covered by federal disaster relief funds. Meetings are held on the fourth Tuesday A each month at 7:30 P.M. in the Com- nunity Room. Appointments with the City's Planning Consultant, Howard Dahlgren, can be made by contacting Mary Ann DelaRosa at 452-1850. PARK COMMISSION Chairperson: James Stein 452-4112 Vice -Chair: Robert Leffert 457-1358 Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of the month at 7:00 P.M. in the Com- munity ommunity Room. PAGE 4 Richard Gill, originally hired in March as a temporary Code Enforcement Intern, has recently been retained as the City's second full-time Code Enforcement Of- ficer. It was originally envisioned that Dick's primary duties in the temporary position would be to assist Paul Berg with building inspections during the summer and to enforce various City ordinances. In- stead, building construction activity con- tinued to increase over the unprecedented 1986 level, and dictated that most of his time be spent on inspections and plan . review. It had become apparent by the time the 1988 budget was being prepared that a single full-time code enforcement position was no longer adequate to meet the community's growing building inspec- tion needs. The average number of housing starts be- tween 1980 and 1985 was 55 per year. In 1986, 106 new homes were started, and by November 1st of this year 130 permits had already been issued for new homes. A recent survey of land uses revealed that there are nearly 400 lots available for build- ing in new subdivisions, plus many more in- dividual lots scattered throughout the city. More development of the southeastern portion of the city is presently in the plan- ning stages. If approved, the proposed development could result in the creation of an additional 500 medium and high density housing units. In addition to the residen- tial lots, roughly 250 acres of industrial land is still undeveloped. The length of Dick's employment with the city is indeterminate: it is dependent on how quickly the undeveloped areas fill up and on the level of construction activity. Eventually there will come a time when the demands for inspection service can be ac- commodated by a one-person department and the second code enforcement position will be phased out. Since this will be our final issue for 1987, we'd like to extend our best holiday wishes to all! The City Staff MENDOTA HEIGHTS HIGHLITES The Mendota Heights City Council meets the fust and third Tuesd ay of each month, at 7:30 P.M., in the Community Room of the Dakota County State Bank Building, 750 South Plaza Drive. Citizens are wel- comed and encouraged to attend. The City staff prepares the meeting agen- da and informational materials on the Thursday preceding the meeting. If you would like to place an item on a Council agenda for discussion, please contact City Administrator Kevin Frazell or City Clerk Kathy Swanson, as much in advance as pos- sible, at 452-1850. ALL, 1987 Your other opportunity to raise an issu or question with the Council is directly at the meeting. "Public Comments" are scheduled early on the agenda: this is the time when citizens can speak to any item not scheduled on the agenda for later con- sideration that evening. However, it is Council policy that issues raised at the meeting will not usually be answered that evening. Rather, the matter will be referred to the staff for preparation of a background report, with any possible Council action to be considered at the next scheduled meeting. In August, the Fire Department took delivery of a new fire truck to aid in the protection of residences and businesses in the City of Mendota Heights. Due to the rapid development in Mendota Heights, it was necessary for the City to purchase what we classify as our second high-capacity pumper. The truck was built by Fire Safety of North Branch, MN, and incorporates a new cab style with added space for the firefighters. From: City Of Mendota Heights 750 Plaza Drive South Bulk Rate Mendota Heights, Mn. 55120 U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 6166 SI. Paul, Mn. 551: POSTAL PATRON CARRIER ROUTE MENDOTA HEIGHTS, MN PRESORT SS118 AND SS120