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1957-04-15 Minutes of Mendota Heights Village Council46 Regular Meeting The regular meeting of the Mendota Heights Village Counglil was held at the Vill. Hall April 15,1957,at 8:00p.m4.The roll being called all Council member8 were present, 'Upon motion of Trustee Sweney, seconded by Trustee Horning,resolved that the reading of the minutes of the previous meeting be dispensed with and that the words"Until April 9,1957,when it will reconvene" be stricken from the minutes. Ayes:-5; Nays t-0. Mr. Byron Lyons,Committee Chairmanof the Pilot Knob Association, discussed the condition, use, and possible acquisition of the Pilot Knob School with Mayor Edman, Mr. Bradford, Chairman of the Mendota Heights Recreation Committee,requested that the Village take over the Pilot Knob School provided that the Pilot Knob Association (Thke over the financial, maintenance, end operational aspects of the building, for a On motion of Trustee Sweney„ seconded by Trustee Horning, resolved that the Village ''ieriod of two years. Council take the necessary steps to accept the Pilot Knob S0hooleAyest-5; Nay8s00 On motion of Trustee Sweney„ seconded by Trustee Horning, resolved that the Village Council will aceept the Pilot Knob School for Community and recreational purposes and empower the Village Council and the Village Attorney to negotiate with the Independent School District We School Board for the aqquisition of School property. Ayes:-5; Nast-0 Trustee Kramer reported that the Village has the arm in the amount of 43600.00 available for road improvement from the County; However, the Village must match the amount with aThe Planning Commission and the Fire Department have been requested to notify Bob an equal amount to obtain it. Franzmeier whenever they anticipate using the Village Hall. Wood Foster reported that the River Road Case would be tied in October court. Jake Weinzettel requested permission from the Village Council to store black dirt on the lot adjacent to his house on liagon Wheel Trail Road. kr. Pieinzettel promised to sell the dirt within a period of two years and would not haul any additional dirt in. It was decided that '4r. Weinzettel make his request in writing and obtain signatures Carl Drake, Chairman of the Planning Commission, requested an answer to the question of neighbors next to said lot® of the legality of the proceedure followed in the re-zoning of commercial property on the corner of Highway 100 and HighwaY49. The Village Attorney stated that the proceedure followed was legal and that the above mentioned property is legally Commercial poperty. Bruno Franzmeier and Paul Kressin requested permission for the extension of the Mendota Water Company water facilities to their property. The reqUest was referred to the Village Attorney for proper proceedure. A'request from Paul Kressin for building permits for lots 12 through17,Block B, in the Rogers Lake Addition, was referred to the Planning Commission. Trustee Sweney reported that a meeting With the Civil Defense Directors occured thn April 11,1957. The purpose of the meeting2was to explain to the Fire i'epartment what proaeedure to follow in case of an emergency. It was also decided that Don lesher continue as the Mendota Heights Civil Defense Or motion of Trustee Horning,seconded by Trustee Krammer, resolved that an OrdinancjPg Director. estallishing a Huard of Health, Providing for the appointment of a health officer and defining the powere and duties thereof be adoped. Ayes:-5; Nays:-04 3 On mot4.on of Trutee Horning, seconded by Trustee Kran / mer, resolved that an Ord-4 P...... ,inane° requiring the cleaning of premises, providing for a sanitary inspector, and establishing a penalty for violations thereof be adopted. Ayes:-5; Nays-0. It was unamilous?y resolved by the Council that building permits be issued to M.B. Bream icr lac2 3 and 24. Block 3, in thu Tilsen Highland Heights Addition. On motion ot Trubtea Horning, seconded by Trustee Swaney, rosolvedthat the meeting be adjourned, Are:-5: Nays!-O, :t. Robert Edman, Mayo:'.- Attest: Frank Stary.01e7k Village Council Mendota Heights Minnesota Gentlanen: 1281 Lakeview Avenue St. Paul 18, Minnesota April 15, 1957 Mr. Edman, in his letter of March 21, 1957, asked the Pilot Knob Association to go into greater detail about •the proposed transfer of the Pilot Knob School. He particularly wanted information on six points: 1. The condition of the building 2. An estimate of annual upkeep 3. The capital investment necessary to put the building into immediate use L. Contributions the Pilot Knob Association might make in labor to put the school building into condition 5. Possible supervision of activities in the building by members of the Pilot Knob Association 6. Recreational and civic advantages resulting from the transfer of the Pilot Knob School to Mendota Heights We shall cover the above points in the order as given. 1. The condition of the building The school has suffered some slight deterioration since it has been out of use, but this is confined to broken window panes, a few pieces of loose siding, and some peeling paint. It has been estimated that A25 would be a liberal allow- ance for buying new glass, while the siding could be repaired in a couple of hours. Probably the whole building should be repainted within a year or so. Neighbors have said that if the building were being used there would be much less breakage 1 of glass and so on, since there would be a greater feeling of responsibility for keeping up the structure. The school was moved to its present location on Pilot Knob Road in 1949. Consequently, the men, septic tank, foundation, and basement date from that time and are in good condition. A new oil burning, warm air furnace was also installed in 1949, and is equally serviceable. In 1952 a new electric water heater was put in, together with a used electric range. On the whole, the school isin good condition and would. require little in the way of immediate expenditures. During . the period of disuse, the windows have been boarded up, and the plumbing drained, 2. An estimate of annual upkeep School board records indicate that a fair estimate of annual upkeep:under school use conditions would be $520. It seems, logical that these figures would be cut considerably if the building were put to community use, since the heating plant would then usually operate at a low level, and use of electricity for lights and water supply would be markedly lower. Therefore, the estimate of annual upkeep is 335. 3. The capital investment necessary to put the building into immediate use About the only investment required would be the purchase of fifty chairs and a couple of tables for use in meetings. It is understood that used folding chairs may be obtained for $2 apiece and used folding tables for $20 each. For the num- ber mentioned above, the cost should approximate $140. 4. Labor contributions by the Pilot Knob Association The best indication of what might be expected is a record of what has been done in the past. Association members and other have installed the water heater, painted the basement, erected the playground equipment, built in cabinets, con- structed the crushed stone horse shoe drive in front of the school, and have also regularly performed the custodial duties involved in keeping the building clean. 5. Supervision of activities by members of the Pilot Knob Association Members of the Pilot Knob Association are presently engaged in leading a number of activities which could be directly transferred to the school building. Some of these are: Boy Scouts Cub Scouts Girl Scouts Youth Firearms. Safety Training Adult Education Games and Recreation Great Books Discussion Group We•feel sure that there would be no lack of talent in the area to supervise additional services, such as some of those listed under point 6 below. 6. Recreational and civic advantages resulting from the transfer of the Pilot Knob School to Mendota Heights First, the school and its grounds would be a nucleus for a playground system for the village. The school property includes four lots, totaling about an acre and a half. Playground equipment consists of four teeter-totters, eight swings, a good sized slide, and a pair of posts for such things as volley ball nets. There is sufficient room for such sports and activities as these: Skating rink Wading pool Horseshoe courts Volley ball Tennis courts Basketball • Badminton Croquet In addition to the schoolroom proper, the building has a full basement about 40 ft. x 35 ft. in size. The indoor space is suitable for ping -pong, shuffleboard and folk dancing. Secondly, the school presents distinct advantages as an additional polling place for elections, and as an alternative meeting place for the village council and other municipal bodies. The fire station polling place easily becomes over- crowded, and the parking problem there presents a hazard to the prompt use of the fire apparatus. While the Pilot Knob School admittedly is not as centrally located as the fire station, it is still very conveniently accessible from Highways 13, 100, 55, and directly on 19. In the third place, the facilities of the school building lend themselves to all sorts of organization meetings and classes, many of which have been held there in the past. Among these are: Handicraft and hobby classes Adult education Youth Firearms Safety Training Boy and Girl Scouts, Cubs, Brownies, Campfire Girls, etc. Agricultural meetings such as 4-H, Farm Bureau, Future Farmers, etc. Great Books Discussion Group Civil Defense Classes Garden club Nature club Activities normally held in the Mendota school during the school year, but lacking meeting places during summer vacations Pilot Knob Association meetings Social functions Since the above listing is by no means all-inclusive, the building should be available for numerous other community interests. The recent difficulty that other suburbs in this area have had with juvenile delinquency emphasizes the need that Mendota Heights also has to sponsor and supervise wholesome activities for all age groups. This will become increasingly important as our population grows, and as the present expansion in the child population moves on into the teen-age groups. It has been our thought that the groups named above would pay, if any, only very nominal fees as a contribution toward janitorial service. There do exist, however, at least two possible sources of revenue which could largely defray the cost of operating the,building. These are essentially non-competitive with the above-mentioned uses (largely night-time) since the structure could be rented to fledgling church congregations on Sundays, and a cooperative day nursery could be organized for daytime use. We understand that several church groups have al- ready asked to rent the building for Sunday use, and a substantial demand for a day nursery exists in this area. We hope that we have answered your questions in a way that will facilitate a prompt decision on this matter. Sincerely yours, Pilot Knob Association alq,42,60 Miles Bredvold, President (John Cramer, Vice President q".. ) ' ty 4i R. J. Gregg, Treasurer, ecretary Byron Committ e Chairman