Loading...
2003-03-14 Friday News The Friday News March 14, 2003 Former ARC Commissioner Joe Leuman to be Recognized On Tuesday night, former Airport Relations Commissioner Joe Leuman will be recognized by the City Council. Mr. Leuman served on the Airport Relations Commission for ten years, from August 1993 until January 31, 2003. Joe’s dedication and service to the City of Mendota Heights is greatly appreciated and the Council will present him with a plaque of appreciation at Tuesday night’s Council meeting. Former Planning Commissioner Bernie Friel will also be receiving a plaque of appreciation. However, Mr. Friel is out of town th and has requested his plaque be presented at the May 6 City Council meeting. Attention Skate Park Enthusiasts The City of Mendota Heights is asking for your help in selecting the obstacles to be used in a proposed skate park to be located in Roger’s Lake Park (located off Wagon Wheel Trail near Interstate Hwy 35E). The obstacles are to be installed/located inside the fencing of the existing double tennis court. At the last Parks and Recreation Commission meeting the Commission directed staff to invite the youth and adult members of the community, who have attended Commission or City Council meetings in support of developing a skate park, to assist in selecting a list of obstacles so that formal bids can be requested from various vendors or suppliers of skate park components. The Parks and Recreation Commission wish to receive bids from both vendors that manufacture steel only obstacles and those suppliers that use the wood composite skate surface material known as Skate-Lite Pro in the construction of their obstacles. A representative for the Skate Wave th Modular Skatepark system (an all steel product) will be at City Hall offices on Thursday, March 20 from 4:30-6:00 PM to assist interested individuals in creating a skate park layout and select obstacles. Formal bids will then be requested from all of the selected vendors to supply the same or similar obstacles. Final bids will thth be reviewed by the Parks Commission on April 8 and the City Council on April 15. If you have any questions, please contact Guy Kullander at 651-255-1155. Barr’s Review of Draft EAW th On February 19, we received the preliminary draft EAW prepared by the Developer Ron Clark. Staff and the City Attorney have reviewed the draft agreement, and recommended that the th City hire Barr Engineering to conduct a review of the EAW draft submitted. At the March 4 City Council meeting, the Council accepted staff’s recommendation and hired Barr Engineering. Barr has been charged with reviewing the draft EAW for completeness and accuracy, making recommendations to the City Council about any missing information necessary to make the document complete. Barr has now completed their review of the draft EAW. On Tuesday night, the Council will review Barr Engineering’s analysis of the draft EAW. Once the City determines that the EAW is complete, the City must publish the EAW for a 30-day review and comment period. During this 30-day period, written comments from the public are accepted on the EAW. The comments shall address the accuracy and completeness of the material in the EAW, potential impacts that may warrant further investigation before the project is commenced, and the need for an EIS on the proposed project. The City (RGU) must respond in writing to all of the submitted comments. The City has also hired Barr Engineering to assist the City in drafting responses to technical comments and work with staff in preparing responses to policy related comments. They will also assist the City in drafting final findings of fact once the comment period is complete. Colin Brownlow from Barr Engineering will be present on Tuesday night to answer any questions the Council may have. Parks and Recreation Commission Recommends Updating Facility Needs Study th At the March 11 Parks and Recreation meeting, the Commission recommended that the City Council direct staff to update the 1985 Park and Recreation Facility Needs Study. This recommendation resulted from the discussions surrounding the request from MHAA for installation of ballfield lights in Mendota Heights. The Commission felt that in order to determine the real needs in the community, the 1985 study should be updated. Changes of improvements implemented since 1985 would be incorporated into the study. Recreation programs, park/facility usage patterns, as well as demographic data would also be updated. Input from residents would be sought through the use of a mail out survey. The City Council will be considering this recommendation at the meeting on Tuesday night. Five Finalists Chosen for Police Chief Interviews The City narrowed down its pool of 40 applicants for the Police Chief position to five top candidates. Through a written exercise, the City Council was able to narrow the pool to the following individuals: Tim Brennan, acting Chief in Mounds View, John Gannaway, Bayport Police Chief, Greg Hestness, Deputy Chief in Minneapolis, Mark Kempe, St. Paul Sergeant, and Larry Lotzer, a Sergeant in Richfield. The five th candidates will undergo a two-part interview process on Saturday, March 15. They will interview with three members of the Police Department and then with the City Council. We anticipate the City Council appointing the new Chief of Police on Tuesday night, conditioned upon completion of a successful background investigation. Freeway Road Water Main In September 2002, the City Council approved a street reconstruction project for the Freeway Road neighborhood as part of the Town Center Development. At the time, two residents requested that the City replace some water mains during the street project. The Council, at that time, considered two options. They considered approving an agreement with St. Paul Regional Water Services to turn the Mendota Heights’ water supply infrastructure over to St. Paul. St. Paul would then agree to replace the mains. The Council also considered paying for the water main replacement ourselves. In September, the City Council opted to not sign the agreement with St. Paul water and to also not replace the main ourselves as the cost for the replacement exceeded $250,000. At the last meeting, the Council again addressed the issue of an agreement with St. Paul Regional Water services. The Council asked staff to research a number of issues related to the agreement and report back to the City Council. The Council will be considering the agreement and the th potential replacement of the water mains at the March 18 City Council meeting. Street Sweeping Bids Spring is almost here and the City needs to contract with a street sweeping firm soon in order to be placed high on the list to have our streets swept early. We sent out requests for bids and received three bids back. The lowest bid was from Pearson Brothers out of Loretto, MN. Our contract provides for six sweepers operating from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM daily, which means the entire sweeping operation is completed in about a week. On Tuesday night, the City Council will award the street sweeping contract. Final Thought Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Respectfully Submitted, Cari Lindberg Administrator Attachments: Pipeline, Just the Facts, City Council Agenda, City Council Work Session agenda, Pre- Application Meeting Synopsis, Southwest Review article” Future of historic Pilot Knob debated,” Sun Current articles “Finalists named for Mendota Heights Police Chief,” ”Sound insulation not delayed, runway is,” “Attention Skate Park Enthusiasts ,” LMC Friday Fax, AMM News.