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Issue 11 - Heights Highlights Spring 1988PAGE 1 MARCH,1988 INNUE 11 Helping choose the next President won't be the only important vote you'll have a chance to cast in 1988. On Tuesday, May 3rd, Mendota Heights residents will also have to decide whether to approve sub- stantial improvements to the City's parks system. The ballot question will be whether to authorize the City to issue $2.5 million of general obligation bonds to pay for the fol- lowing: 1. A 35 acre Recreational Area south of Mendota Heights Road, between Dodd and Delaware. A site plan for the proposed facility is shown below; included are two soccer/football fields, two softball IMPOR' fields, one baseball field, an open skating area on a natural pond, picnic shelter, playground area, a restroom/concession building, and unimproved, wooded areas. 2. Approximately 15 additional miles of trails through the community, providing a comprehensive system of pedes- trian/bicycle links between parks, neigh- borhoods, and other points of destination. 3. Numerous improvements to com- plete our existing neighborhood parks, in- cluding half court basketball, picnic shel- ters, playground equipment, volleyball courts, and enhanced parking and landscaping. May 3rd voting will take place in the TOO! usual six precinct polling places, between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. More detailed information about the improve- ments, including the estimated tax impact, will be sent to your home during the next two months. There will also be opportunities to attend neighborhood and community infor- mation meetings to get your questions answered. Proposed 35Acre Mendota Heights Community Recreation Area SUMMER HELP The City will be taking applications until May 1st for part-time summer help in the Public Works Department. The work week will be 36 hours, depending on weather, and the salary will be $5.50 per hour. Candidates must be students, at least 18 years of age. Applications are available at the City's En- gineering Department, Room 214,750 South Plaza Drive. Call 452-1086 for additional in- formation. PAGE 2 HEIGHTS HIGHLITES MARCH 1988 As of January 19th, there are no vacan- cies on any City Commissions. On that date, the City Council appointed one new Park Commission member and reap- pointed two Planning Commissioners and two Park Commissioners whose terms were to expire on January 31st. Jerry Morson, who has served on the Planning Commission since July of 1982, was reappointed to the Commission and was re-elected Chairman by the other members at their January meeting. Retired from Donovan Construction Com- pany in 1980 after forty years of engineer- ing experience, Jerry brings special insight to the Commission and to the City Hall construction committee on which he also serves. Dorothy McMonigal was reappointed to her second term on the Planning Com- mission. First appointed to the Commis- sion in 1985, she has an extensive back- ground in community involvement and volunteerism. As a member of the Park Commission prior to her first Planning term, Dorothy has been continuously in- volved in comprehensive planning and plat reviews for the past nine years. Bev Lachenmayer has been appointed to her first full term as a Park Commission member. She was originally appointed in October, 1986 to complete a prior member's unexpired term. Bev volun- teered to serve on the Commission because she believes that "parks and areas of recreation are treasures which add to the richness of a community's environment." Carol Damberg will serve in her first full term as a Park Commissioner. Carol's "keen awareness and interest in our en- vironment and its relationship to nature and the needs of people" have been an asset to the Commission since her May, 1985 ap- pointment. Park Commissioner Marsha Knittig resigned from the Commission in mid- January. John Huber, who lives in the Cherry Hills Addition with his wife and two children, was appointed to serve the remainder of that term, until January 31, 1989. A life-long resident of Mendota Heights, John will be carrying on the fami- ly tradition of community service estab- lished by his father, long-time former Mayor Don Huber. Members of both Commissions are ap- pointed by the City Council to three year terms. Those terms are staggered so that two appointments on each commission ex- pire every January 31st. Construction activity within the City reached record proportions in 1987. The inspection staff reviewed and approved building plans for 153 new homes last year. remodeling of the Lloyd's Meats facility. Country Club Markets reconstructed its warehouse on Highway 13. The highest concentration of non - This represents a nearly 50% increase over the record-setting level of 106 new housing starts in 1986. The average value of new homes constructed in 1987, excluding land, was $144,993 compared to a 1986 average value of $121,292.. The Code En- forcement Department also issued 184 permits for miscellaneous activity, such as remodeling, additions and garages. The City's commercial and industrial base also grew considerably last year. Projects within the City's industrial park included construction of Northland - Insurance Company's three story office building (photo above), an addition to Cray Research, and expansion and The unauthorized disposal of demoli- tion and construction waste is one unfor- tunate side effect of the building boom we are experiencing here in the City. Al- though there are licensed disposal sites nearby, many times vacant lots and dead- end streets are being used for dump sites. Both the City and the County have regulations prohibiting this type of dump- ing for several reasons. Aesthetics is the obvious, but health concerns and natural drainage disruption are other problems being created. Once a dump site has been established, other types of material, in- cluding hazardous wastes and household garbage, get disposed there. As rain water seeps through this material, it can contaminate both surface residential growth occurred in a single quadrant of the community: the intersec- tion of Highway 110 and Lexington Avenue. Development in the Yorl Centre Pointe South project, located at t,.., southwest corner of the intersection, in- cluded construction of the one-story Bap- tist Medical Clinic and a three-story office building. Across the street, on the T.H. 110 frontage road, construction began on the Beth Jacob Synagogue. Perhaps the most significant construction ever ex- perienced by the community lies just west of the Synagogue, at the northwest corner of Lexington and Highway 110 -- the Men- dota Heights City Hall! and ground water supplies. These sites provide an excellent habitat for rodents and flies. Such sites create unpleasant odors and mar the natural beauty of the landscape. They can also become an at- traction to children, creating the pos- sibility for injuries. In addition, problems have occurred when development of properties has unearthed these wastes, causing construction problems and added costs for removal. Anyone who might have any informa- tion pertaining to this unauthorized dui ing is urged to contact the City's Code hn forcement Department and appropriate actions will be taken. Please help us protect our environment! PAGE 3 HEIGHTS HIGHLITES MARCH 1988 rr, Almost two and one half years of plan- ning and debate came to a conclusion in late December when the Planning Com- mission and City Council gave approval to plans for the Kensington multi -family residential development project in southeast Mendota Heights. The Ken- sington project includes 500 condominium manor homes and townhouses, as well as a small neighborhood park. The developer's agreement gives the City the option to purchase another 35 acres of parkland for $750,000. The extra land wouldbe used for a community Recreation Area, as described in the accompanying article on the Parks Bond referendum. Its purchase is contingent upon approval of that referendum by the voters of Mendota Heights on May 3rd. The 105 acres of land in Kensington lie south south of Mendota Heights Road, be- tween Dodd and Delaware. The property was previously designated for low-density, single-family homes. However, in 1985 the City initiated a comprehensive land use study for the area which led to the con- clusion that single-family homes were not appropriate because of proximity to I-494, and the noise impact of aircraft overflight. After several months of discussion and debate, the Planning Commission and City Council decided to change the zoning to allow a multi -family development. Getting that change in designation through the State and regional approval processes took almost another two years. The plan is cur- rently being reviewed by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for consistency with State air quality standards. The Kensington plan is being developed by Centex Homes. Centex is also developing the Hampshire Estates single-family neighborhood to the north, and is working in cooperation with Tan- dem Corporation, developers of the Cop- perfield Addition. The residential units will be owner -occupied, ranging in price from approximately $68,000 to $120,000. The City Council budgeted money to reac- tivate a boulevard tree planting program in 1988. Trees will be made available to resi- dents interested in dressing up their boulevards during the summer. There will be a $50 charge for a 2.5" (minimum) caliper tree, planted and staked. You are invited to contact Diane at City Hall, 452-1086, for ad- ditional program details and to place your name on a priority list. Trees will be made available on a first-come, first-served basis to those property owners on the priority list. The Mendota Heights City Council is pictured above at a recent meeting. The mem- bers are, from left to right, Councilmember Carl (Buzz) Cummins, III, Councilmember Janet Blesener, Mayor Charles Mertensotto, Councilmember Elizabeth Witt and Coun- cilmember John Hartmann. The Council meets at 7:30 P.M. on the first and third Tuesdays of the month in the Community Room of the Dakota County State Bank Building, 750 South Plaza Drive. Citizens are welcomed and encouraged to attend. The City staff prepares meeting agen- 0- and informational materials on the Thursday preceding the meeting. If you would like lace an item on a Council agenda for discussion, please contact City Administrator lkevin Frazell or City Clerk Kathy Swanson as much in advance as possible, at 452-1850. You also have an opportunity to raise an issue or question with the Council directly at the meeting. "Public Comments" is scheduled early on the agenda to allow an opportunity for citizens to speak to any item which is not scheduled on the agenda. U.- , 1 M o il Are you tired of reading boring books and magazines? Do you feel the need for a change of pace? Do we have a treat in store for you! We're looking for someone to spend a few days every quarter of the year reading com- mercial water meters. This is a perfect op- portunity for a retired person, home -maker or college student to earn a little extra cash and get to know your City better. If you would like further information, call Kathy at City Hall, 452-1850. PAGE 4 HEIGHTS HIGHLITES MARCH 1988 If you watch the newspapers and pay at- tention to the happenings in our neighbor- ing communities, you are aware of the fact that the increase in the population in Nor- thern Dakota County has brought along with it an increase in crime. In Mendota Heights, we have experienced our "fair share" of the housing boom. In addition, over 2,900 people work for businesses lo- cated in our City. In spite of this new growth, we are proud to say that we have more than "held the line" in this important battle. The Ups and Downs The crime that our citizens fear most, residential burglary, has gone down sig- nificantly. In 1985 we had 58 citizens vic- timized. We reduced that number to 44 in 1986 and 1987 saw that number further reduced to 30. That is a figure that we are very proud of! It represents an excellent effort by our officers and our citizens to keep burglars out of the City. Part I Offen- ses (the most serious crimes) were at 248 in 1985, 221 in 1986, and down significant- ly to 183 in 1987. The "ups" are significant as well. Ar- rests for drunken driving have more than doubled in 1987 and our Officers wrote 21% more traffic citations in 1987 than they did in 1986. For every person who received a ticket, 15 people were given warnings (1,967 in 1987). People driving through Mendota Heights were well aware of our presence. Another benefit of this vigilance was a reduction in the number of automobile accidents that we had to inves- tigate - from 235 in 1986 to 148 in 1987. why Us? Why did our figures go down when others went up? A person will not shoplift in a store if the clerks are helpful and at- tentive. They only steal when they are left alone or the clerks are too busy to help them. Our police officers pay close atten- tion to our citizens and guests. We respond to a great number of "ser- vice" oriented calls that many departments do not have the time or manpower to hand- le. The result is a familiarity with our citizens that helps us notice when some- thing is "not just right" or someone seems "but of place." Although our overall ac- tivity has steadily increased, our crime goes down because our people are like that friendly and attentive clerk. We try hard to deliver the type of service that you want and, at the same time, provide the protec- tion and enforcement that the City needs. Although we've tried hard, we have y. to come up with an appropriate slogan for the City. Nor has a logo yet been developed. With City Hall construction progressing well, a logo must be designed soon, so that new stationery can be printed before we move. The City Council has decided to retain the services of a professional graphics art- ist for logo preparation, and would like to find a Mendota Heights resident to per- form this task. If you are qualified and in- terested, please contact Kevin Frazell, City Administrator. HOME, SWEET ! The new CityHall, at the northwest corner of Highway 110 and Lexington Avenue, is beginning to take form. The 18,900 square foot building will be ready for occupa- tion by October 1st. Exterior materials will be brick, glass and cedar. From: City'Of Mendota Heights 750 Plaza Drive South Bulk Rate Mendota Heights, Mn. 55120 U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 616( St. Paul, Mn. 551'. POSTAL PATRON CARRIER ROUTE MENDOTA HEIGHTS, MN PRESORT SS118 AND SS120 MENDOTA HEIGHTS a 4� 70 CZ V, CZ a. You are requested to vote on Tuesday, May 3rd, on the Park and Recreation Bond Issue described in this brochure. The $2,500,000 Bond Issue will assure the realization of a complete park and recreation system for the City and the preservation of natural and scenic open space for our enjoyment and for the enjoyment of future generations. A successful vote will mean: — — Improvement to the seven existing neighborhood parks to make them more complete and enjoyable facilities. — — Acquisition and development of a 35 acre community recreation area which will provide the community with organized play fields, for football/soccer, softball and baseball, picnic shelter and play areas, and skating and hiking facilities. — — The addition of approximately 15 miles of pedestrian/bicycle trails, creating a "backbone" system of trails throughout the community. This program of improvements was developed based on your responses to a community—wide survey conducted by the Parks and Recreation Commission in June, 1984. A successful Park Bond Issue is the only way to assure a systematic and economical implementation of a well—structured park and open space plan which meets the needs of the community. You are encouraged to review this brochure and to vote on Tuesday, May 3rd. Steering Committee: Bernie Friel, 454-3655 Chuck Bangasser Bob Bonine Carol Damberg Ultan Duggan Evelyn Fischer Kevin Howe John Huber Vicki Katz Stan Gustafson, 457-5998 Cameron Kruse Bev Lachenmayer Ed Lavigne Bert McKasy Rhoda Mains Bill Owens Galen Pate Judy Pendergrass Jim Losleben, 454-3108 Frank Pilney Jim Reagan Victor Reim Glenn Stratton Diane Stratton Russ Wahl Bob Zevnick parks & recreation bond issue Prepared by the City of Mendota Heights The 1971 parks bond referendum gave the City its seven existing neighborhood parks. These parks have served the com- munity well, providing convenient access to open space and recreation opportunities for Mendota Heights neighborhoods. The current bond issue includes monies to improve the parks, correcting deficiencies and making them more complete, well-rounded recreation areas. Valley Park *Add a half court basketball area •Construct trail rest area, including small picnic areas and benches • Construct elevated pedestrian over- look •Improve drainage on softball field ta Park half court basketball area Rogers Lake Park •Add a half court basketball area •Add volleyball court •Add horseshoe court •Provide non -motorized watercraft access area (i.e., canoes) Friendly Marsh Park • Construction of a 200 linear foot floating boardwalk *Construction of a wildlife viewing blind • Construct elevated platform for viewing •Installation of interpretive signing for wetland formation, vegetation and animal habitats •Construction of 10 parking spaces hvy Hills Park •Add a half court basketball area • Construct new playground equipment •Add 10 parking spaces *Add landscaping Wentworth Park •Add a half court basketball area Friendly Hills Park •Add a half court basketball area •Enhance the trail connection to Huber Drive and areas east •Construct a picnic shelter COMMUNITY RECREATION 10", y4W,011 A 35 acre Community Recreation Area is proposed to be acquired and developed south of Mendota Heights Road, be- tween Dodd Road and Delaware Avenue, north of I-494. The Recreation Area Plan includes construction of two soc- cer/football fields, two softball fields and a baseball field. Lighting, fencing and enclosed dugouts are planned for the fields, and portable bleachers will be provided. A 2,000 square foot comfort building is planned, and will provide information, concession and restroom and storage facilities. The recreation area will include a picnic shelter, play structure, a 240 square foot warming house to serve a "free skating" area, facilities for volleyball, basketball, and horse shoe courts. TO DELAWARE AVENUE ---® m PNOPGSED MENMIT -Ts TO DODD ROAD PNGPGSEG NEIGHBOAHGOD PARK � •, ..� `\ ". ISI ..`i:::z•.i �1., \�•/ I I `�.. FNEE SKATING nwP '�.�-r �.. •• �_� - SOFTBALL J .,Ketal=• \ ` _ _r •_,`'�. PUBLIC ROADWAY® oe PARKING \w� (180 spaces) SOCCER/ SOCCERI ' c ) + r FOOTBALL I ( FOOTBALL :kL � � ! SOFTBALL !/) BASEBALL i I H COM M PAN W 0 -110611 16A 88% of Mendota Heights' residents responding to a June, 1984 parks survey indi- cated a desire for more bicycle/pedestrian trails, making it the top priority. The plan diagrammed below answers that need by ad- ding approximately 15 miles of trail and creat- ing a "backbone" system that connects parks, schools, the proposed community recreation area, and retail areas. The Mendota Heights trails would not be an end in themselves, but would link up with other regional trails. The Dakota County sys- -- EXISTING BICYCLE/PEDESTRIAN TRAIL r ••• PROPOSED BICYCLE/PEDESTRIAN TRAIL �® PROPOSED PEDESTRIAN TRAIL ACa sa � LILY t tem would be accessed via Pilot Knob Road FUTURE into Eagan. Access to the I-494 bridge cross- ACCJ, ing will lead to Fort Snelling State Park and the planned Minnesota Valley Trail. Access J to Lilydale Regional Park (which the City of St. Paul proposes to upgrade) would be provided on the north. When the State upgrades Highway 110 and the Mendota Bridge, the Department of Transportation will construct the trail section along T.H. 110, and bicyclists and pedestrians will have easy access to Minnehaha Falls and the entire Minneapolis system. Trails will be separated from busy arterial ri streets. On -road applications with striping and signage will be limited to low traffic volume neighborhood streets. z r r �� 1 1 ACCESS TO EAGAN AND MINNESOTA. RIVER VALLEY K9JM6)hWWMLq_NL311V ACCESS TO ST. PAUL , 10 c ii ACCESS TO WEST ST. PAUL �LU r) - .I - The following chart represents the tax impact of the proposed bond issue and includes associated annual facility maintenance costs. The estimated net tax increase is based on projected taxes payable in the year 1991, since this is the year in which the greatest tax impact will occur. Property Sale Assessor's Market Typical Current Maximum Annual Price Value of Home Homestead Tax Tax Impact (1991) $ 80,000 $64,000 $ 483.00 $11.76 $125,000 $100,000 $1,312.00 $45.45 $150,000 $120,000 $1,812.00 $57.60 $200,000 $160,000 $2,810.00 $81.90 From: City Of Mendota Heights Bulk Rate 750 Plaza Drive South Mendota Heights, Mn. 55120 U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 6166 St. Paul, Mn. 55120 CARRIER ROU, POSTAL PATRON PRESORT MENDOTA HEIGHTS, MN 55118 AND 55120