Loading...
2015-07-24 Friday News July 24, 2015 City of Mendota Heights Weekly Update August 4 City Council Meeting DATES TO REMEMBER: July 27 Traveling Parks Program Marie Park 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Friendly Hills 12:30 p.m.- 1:30 p.m. Did you know... July 28 - Planning Commission 7:00 p.m. July 29 2015 Citizens Policy Academy Traveling Parks Program Kensington Park 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Wentworth Park 12:30 p.m.- 1:30 p.m. Music in the Park Market Square Shoop! - 6:30 p.m. July 31 - Traveling Parks Program Rogers Lake Park Volunteer Firefighters Wanted 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. August 4 Night to Unite City Council 8:00 p.m. Pipeline, Just the Facts - - The Pipeline N E W S L E T T E R Public Works July 24, 2015 Engineering Public Works The Parks Crew worked this past weekend picking up brush off the trails from the Friday night storm. They also cut grass, dragged, striped, and chalked fields in the parks. Trash was picked up and the bathrooms and cleaned daily in the parks. The Utilities Crew checked the lift stations daily. Grease was scraped off the wall of the wet well at the main lift station. The grease was impairing the water level sensor. Weeds were sprayed that are growing up through the cracks in the trails. Staff responded at 1:05am on Saturday to address power outages at Centre Point, Culligan, Veronica and Lilydale lift stations. restored by 2:30pm, Sunday afternoon. Work on the Decorah Lane sewer line was wrapped up and all materials cleaned up from the site. Employees are being cross trained on lift station operations. The Street Crew was also in over the weekend to pick up brush out of the streets from the storm. Brush was picked up on Junction Lane, Hiawatha Avenue, John Street, and Evergreen Knolls. They helped staff the generators at the lift stations. They helped load pipes with the bobcat onto The ash tree that was taken down on Decorah was cleaned up. Black dirt was dropped off at a home on Dodd Road for a storm sewer project. Engineering City Projects (construction year) New Information in Italics Highway 13 Trail Connection (2013-2015) The project is essentially complete. Punch list items are being worked with the contractor. Victoria Road Reconstruction & Rolling Green Neighborhood Rehabilitation (2014/2015) Construction is underway. The first portion of the project has the street completed through base course installation. The second portion of the project should begin in early August. Paved access to Mendota Elementary is open from Lexington Avenue. Trail construction and landscaping still need to be completed on the first portion, but these activities should not impede traffic. Once the second portion is complete, the surface layer of asphalt will be placed over the entire roadway. Substantial completion of the entire project will be met by early October. Annual Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation (2015) Areas to be lined under this contract is Huber Drive from Bent Tree to Cheyenne, Mendota Heights Road from Pilot Knob Road to the lift station, and Rogers Lake Park area. The first 2000 feet of the interceptor line, from Highway 55 to Lexington, will also be lined. Due to the sewer collapse on Decorah Lane this past week, these locations may be modified. Project Completion is expected by the end of November. Mendota Road Neighborhood Improvements (2016) Project will consist of reconstructing Mendota Road (Hwy 110 Frontage Road) from Delaware Avenue to Oak Street, and rehabilitating Warrior Drive, High Ridge Circle, and Sibley Court. ISD197 will be a financial contributor to the project. A ffected residents and property owners in the reconstruction area should have already received a survey concerning elements desired as part of the st design of the project. Please return the surveys by July 31 so the Feasibility Report can be completed. Results of the survey will be presented as part of the Feasibility Report, which is expected to be complete by August. If the project advances, neighborhood meetings and a Public Hearing before City Council would be held this fall (October/November). County Projects New Information in Italics Highway 110 Greenway Trail Crossing (2017) Staff will be meeting with County and MnDOT representatives in late July to go over utility survey results, soil investigation, and wetland delineations. An update will be nd presented to City Council at their September 22 meeting. If approved, the itation project for Highway 110 in 2017. The County will provide regular updates at upcoming City Council meetings. State Projects New Information in Italics Maps of 2015 MnDOT projects can be found at: ŷƷƷƦƭʹΉΉǞǞǞ͵ŭƚƚŭƌĻ͵ĭƚƒΉƒğƦƭΉķΉĻķźƷͪŷƌўĻƓεğǒƷŷǒƭĻƩўЉεƒźķўǩĻЎΗАķǞW…ǒЉБ͵ƉWtbВ5—ЏĬЉƒv ΛĭƚƓƭƷƩǒĭƷźƚƓΜ ŷƷƷƦƭʹΉΉǞǞǞ͵ŭƚƚŭƌĻ͵ĭƚƒΉƒğƦƭΉķΉĻķźƷͪƒźķўǩwǒŅƉb9bCВА—͵ƉtБЋ—a\[ΏƆta ΛƒğźƓƷĻƓğƓĭĻΜ nd Highway 13 Reconstruction (I-35E to 2 Street) (2015) Construction is underway and excavation has begun south of Lexington Avenue. Access to residents and businesses between I-35E and Lexington will be maintained, nd but the Highway is closed to all through traffic between Lexington and 2 Street. The City of Lilydale sponsored drainage improvement project is also underway. Rehabilitation work between Lexington and I-35E is also underway, and a temporary signal has been installed to control single lane traffic through the project area. The work between I-35E and Lexington includes the installation of concrete curb and gutter in some locations along the route. Traffic is detoured down 1-35E to Highway 110 and back to Highway 13. The public is being asked to utilize the detours as much as possible to help ensure the safety of construction workers. For more information, contact Kirsten Klein, Public Affairs Metro District at: kirsten.klein@state.mn.us, or 651-234-7506. The project website is: http://www.dot.state.mn.us/metro/projects/hwy13mendota/. Substantial nd completion is expected by August 22. Highway 149 (Dodd Road) Rehabilitation (2018) This project has slipped 2018. The project will replace the pavement surface of Highway 149 from th I-494 north to West 7 Street in Saint Paul. Also included will be drainage improvement, curb replacement in specified areas, trail rehabilitation from Highway 110 south to Mendakota Park, and new trail construction from Maple Street north to Marie Avenue. The project also included a complete re-decking of the High Bridge in Saint Paul. The City will be contributing costs to the trail improvements, but the rest of the project is funded by MnDOT. There will be a series of open houses hosted by MnDOT beginning this fall. Dates and location will be published soon. For more information, please contact Kirsten Kline, Public Affairs Metor District at 651-234-7506. Other Activities New Information in Italics City-Wide Tree Survey The City is continuing to inventory all City owned trees in boulevards and in developed portions of City Parks. When complete, the City will have a clearer picture of how many ash trees are on City property and their locations. The survey is in response to the confirmation that the Emerald Ash Borer has arrived in Mendota Heights. Once the tree survey is complete, the City will be developing a policy on how to deal with City owned ash trees. Minnesota 2050 The next showings of the Mn2050 documentaries will be th on July 28 made up of civic leaders whose goal is to call attention to the state of our aging infrastructure. Over the past 4 years, MN2050 has produced, in conjunction with TPT, a series of three documentaries (Liquid Assets Water & Sewer, Roads & Bridges, and Rails & Ports) with the series title of, All three episodes have been nominated for national Emmy Awards! More information can be found at www.mn2050.org. Metropolitan Council Water Supply Open House Staff attended an open house where representatives for Metropolitan Council Environmental Services (MCES) presented their draft 2040 Water Supply Master Plan. Met Council was tasked by the Legislature to analyze groundwater usage for municipal drinking water and develop a forecast plan for future decades to ensure adequate supply of clean drinking water. MCES is NOT proposing a regional takeover of water supply. They are recommending management practices to promote conservation, and looking toward utilizing more surface water (river) supply. The plan will be finalized later this year. Cherokee Heights Culvert Staff met with stakeholders from the Lower Mississippi River Watershed Management Organization (LMRWMO), City of West Saint Paul, and City of Saint Paul to finalize the recommendations on repairs to the Cherokee Heights Culvert, just north of Annapolis Street. The LMRWMO commissioned a Feasibility Report on the Saint Paul project, and neighboring cities are participating due to storm water contributions to the area. The project will repair the culvert and address erosion downstream. JULY 24, 2015 The latest from the Mendota Heights Police Department J 30, 2015: O Y A ULYNEEARNNIVERSARY C L P O S P OMMEMORATINGTHEIFEOFOLICEFFICERCOTTATRICK - - -- -- Tuesday, August 4th, 2015 Mendota Heights / Lilydale / Mendota Theft of Gas Saturday 11:07 hours Sergeant Eric Petersen responded to a gas station on report of a female suspect who was reported to have passenger in a purple Dodge Charger with a centered white racing stripe down the length of the vehicle. Plate came back as not on file and no other leads are available. Case is inactive. DAS/Jail Saturday 15:04 hours While on patrol, Sergeant Petersen observed a vehicle speeding and initiated the traffic stop. Upon making contact, the driver immediately informed him he was suspended; Sergeant Petersen soon learned that the driver was suspended because he failed to appear or pay fines twelve times since November, 2014! The female payment of the fines. A family member was contacted who arrived and took custody of the vehicle. Crisis/Mental Health Monday 0132 hours Officer Nick Gorgos responded to a residence on a report of an attempted suicide. The victim reportedly consumed a full bottle of Benadryl; the victim was taken to the hospital by HealthEast medics and placed on a 72 Hour Health & Welfare Hold. Car vs. Motorcycle/Hit & Run Monday 0951 hours Officers were dispatched to a hit and run accident involving a motorcycle. The motorcycle driver informed Officer Phil McCarty that he was hit while stopped at a stop sign. He had been looking at his gauges for a minute when a red pickup truck came up behind him and rolled forward into the rear of his bike, denting the fender and bending the taillight, but the driver was able to keep the bike upright and was not injured. The driver stated the truck was bright red, had a black grill and a chrome bumper. Evidently the driver of the truck did yell and ask if he was OK, but when the cycle driver waved back at him, the truck turned around headed off onto a side street. Area checked/GOA. Case inactive until further leads developed. Theft of Gas Monday 1507 hours Officer Jenny Fordham responded to a gas station to take a report of a gas drive off. The vehicle description and plate info matched the suspect description. When contacted, the owner of the vehicle was very upset to learn the incident had occurred and reassured the Officer Fordham that he would find the culprit. Domestic/Terroristic Threats Monday 1649 hours Officers Nick Gorgos, Phil McCarty and Robin Nelson responded to homeowners reporting damaged property. Their adult son, who stopped by to demand money from them, got angry when they denied his request and kicked in their door and took off. When Officer Gorgos attempted to make contact with them, the suspect cursed him over the phone and hung up on him. He then sent him threatening text messages. However, the parents did not want to pursue charges. Case closed by lack of prosecution by the victims. Car vs Critter Monday 2227 hours Officer Mike Shepard arrived at an accident scene where a car hit a guardrail. The driver had swerved to avoid hitting a critter that ran in front of her but hit the guardrail instead. The vehicle was privately towed. Car vs Car Tuesday 0945 hours Officer Fordham responded to a two vehicle crash; no injuries, minor damage, insurance info exchanged, no citation needed; incident closed. Theft of Gas Saturday 11:07 hours Officer McCarty responded to a report of a theft from a business. The reporting party informed him that a spare tire was stolen from a van parked in the lot sometime over the past weekend. Tire was valued at $300; no suspects or leads. Case inactive. AccidentInjury Tuesday 1132 hours Officers McCarty, Fordham, and Larrive, along with Sergeant Petersen, responded to a one-vehicle accident. Along the way, the reporting party informed the dispatcher that the driver/victim did not appear to be breathing. Medics and MHFD also responded to assist at the scene. The vehicle reported drifted off the road and into the ditch. The owner of the vehicle and next of kin was notified of the situation and of the location of her vehicle. Officers cleared the scene. Theft Wednesday 0139 hours Officer Mike Shepard was parked in a business district and observed a van enter a parking lot of a closed, nearby business. He then observed the van back up to some materials outside the business and the driver exit the vehicle wearing a headlamp. The male party then proceeded to load his van with the materials. Officer Shepard approached the male and ordered him to the ground, as he was holding large pieces of metal that could be used as a weapon. He questioned the suspect who admitted he was stealing the materials. The metals/materials did not appear to be high value but he released the man pending further investigation and possible charges. He learned the value of the materials from the manager, who wanted to pursue prosecution due to the frequency of theft issues. The suspect was mailed a citation for Misdemeanor Theft. Burglary Wednesday 2200 hours A homeowner reported a theft from his attached garage after accidentally leaving their garage door open overnight. The found their vehicles had been rifled through but nothing stolen from them; however, two GoCycles were stolen from the garage. Investigative information, including the serial numbers, was provided to Officer Mike Shepard and the investigation is active. Criminal Property Damage Wednesday 0736 hours Officer Phil McCarty was dispatched to a report of a damaged work van. The victim informed the officer that the doors were damaged before, which cost about $800 to repair, and now the rear doors were damaged again. A motion light had also been unplugged that is mounted near the truck. The plumber thought suspects were trying to steal copper from the vehicle. Nothing was reported stolen; no suspects/leads. Inactive. Criminal Property Damage Wednesday 0736 hours A homeowner reported theft from a horse trailer; nothing was reported stolen, but the padlock had been broken and the door and trim were dented. Outdoor lighting had been tampered with also. No suspects or leads; inactive. Tamper with Vehicle Wednesday 0569 hours Officers responded to several reports of vehicles being entered and rummaged through between Wednesday and Fridaysome had items stolen, in most cases, nothing was reported stolen. Officer Hillary took a report from one victim who reported multiple things stolen, including an iPod, camera and other equipment. - HEAT & YOUR PET Check out the MH Crime Map! Click below to search your neighborhood: https://www.raidsonline.com 1101 Victoria Curve, Mendota Heights, MN 55118 Please send us your positive feedback on our staff to: pdrecords@ mendota-heights.com -- Your feedback is greatly appreciated and helps boost the morale of our staff. HAVE A SAFE WEEK!