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2003-04-04 Friday News The Friday News April 4, 2003 Freeway Road Sanitary Sewer Main to be Televised On Tuesday, the City Council authorized staff to have the sanitary sewer pipe and residential sewer services in the Freeway Road neighborhood televised this spring. During the public hearing for the street reconstruction project in 2002, some of the residents expressed concern regarding the condition of the sanitary sewer main and private sewer lines in this area. Inspection of the sewer main will identify and provide an accurate location of any problem associated with the sewer system. City Council Appoints New Police Chief thth On Saturday March 15 and Tuesday, March 25, the City Council interviewed the top finalists for the position of Police Chief. The Mayor and Council, as well as the panel from the Police Department selected Forest Lake Sergeant Michael Aschenbrener as the top candidate for the position. Sergeant Aschenbrener has worked for the City of Forest Lake for the past 19 years. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice and is in the final stages of his Masters Degree in Education and Police Administration at the University of St. Thomas. Although all of the candidates were very qualified, the City Council felt that Sergeant Aschenbrener would be the best fit for the Police Department and the City of Mendota Heights. Sergeant Aschenbrener has conditionally accepted the position of Police Chief and th will begin serving the City of Mendota Heights as of May 12. On Tuesday night, the City Council formalized the appointment, subject to the completion of a successful background investigation by the Dakota County Sheriff’s Department. Please see the attached Pioneer Press article “Aschenbrener named Mendota Heights Police Chief.” Annual Board of Review st The City called a Board of Review meeting to order on April 1 at 7:00 pm. This meeting is the annual opportunity for our residents to meet with the Assessors and review the property assessment for next year. Bill Peterson, County Assessor was on hand to answer and review any assessment questions that any of the residents had. There were 18 residents of Mendota Heights at the Open Book meetings that were held this year. One letter was submitted to the Assessors Office and one resident was present on Tuesday night. The Council called the board of review to order at 7:00 pm and turned the meeting over to the th County Assessor for comments and explanation of the meeting. On April 15 the Council will reconvene to accept the reports of actions taken and for acceptance of the meeting transcript. Please see the attached usage classification report which was distributed on Tuesday night. Freeway Road Water Main On Tuesday night, the City Council voted 3:2 to transfer ownership of the Mendota Heights water supply infrastructure to St. Paul Regional Water Utility. The St Paul Water Board will vote on the Memorandum th of Understanding at their April 8 meeting. As part of this agreement, the water mains in the Freeway Road neighborhood will be replaced during the street reconstruction project this spring. Please see the attached Sun Current article “MH Council votes to turn water service over to St. Paul.” Kolberg Street Vacation Request Denied On Tuesday, the Council concluded the public hearing for a street vacation request from Mr. Tim Kolberg,790 Ridge Place. Mr. Kolberg was requesting to vacate a portion of unused city street right of way located adjacent to his lot. It was his intention to have the City vacate the right of way, so that he could combine it with his lot and create a new home site. On Tuesday night, a number of neighbors spoke in opposition to the vacation. The Council voted unanimously to deny the request. Index of Public Record for Bluffs EAW We have now indexed all of the materials received by the City for the Bluffs EAW proposal to date. The list of items is available on the website (www.mendota-heights.com) under the “What’s New” section. As we receive new materials often, this list is being updated on a weekly basis. If you are interested in receiving a copy of any of the items listed, please contact Linda Shipton. Copies of the materials will be provided to you in a reasonable time in accordance with the Minnesota Data Practices Act. Copies of the material are subject to the set fee of twenty-five cents per page. Public Hearings on Met Council Transit Fare Increases and Service Cuts The Metropolitan Council is holding a series of public hearings to receive comments on proposed transit fare increases and service cuts. The proposed service cuts include both regular route transit and Metro Mobility service. For more information about the meetings and the specific routes affected, see the following websites: For Metropolitan Council/Metro Transit Budget Reduction info: http://www.metrocouncil.org/transit/news/Stories/03_03proposed.htm; For Metro Transit Fare Increase: http://www.metrocouncil.org/transit/news/Stories/03_03proposedfares.htm; Metro Transit Service Reduction: http://www.metrocouncil.org/transit/service-fare_change/service- fare_summary.htm; rd City Wide Spring Clean Up – Saturday, May 3, 8 am – 2 pm at Mendota Plaza Each spring, Mendota Heights designates one day when for a small fee, residents can discard items otherwise difficult to dispose of. The City-wide Spring Clean up is limited to Mendota Heights residents only. Identification is required. Only cars, pickups and small trailers are allowed to unload items. Commercial debris is not accepted. Commercial, industrial and institutional customers are not eligible. No yard waste or household hazardous waste is accepted. For further information or to volunteer for this event, call Patrick Hollister at (651) 452-1850. Spring Clean up is made possible by a grant from the OEA and the Dakota County Environmental Management. Mendota Heights Appliance Collection Day - Monday, May 5 – 8:00 am –12:00 pm nd Old appliances can be picked up from your driveway! Call JR’s Appliance by Friday, May 2 for prices and to schedule your pick up. Dial 454-9215, and ask for Operator 33. The appliance collection is made possible by a grant from the OEA and Dakota County Environmental Management. Final Thought “Some things are very important and some are very unimportant. To know the difference is what we are given life to find out.” – Anna F. Trevisan Respectfully Submitted, Cari Lindberg Administrator Attachments: Pipeline, Planning Synopsis, ARC Agenda, Parks and Recreation Commission agenda, Dakota County Usage Classification Report, Pioneer Press article “Aschenbrener named Mendota Heights Police Chief”, LMC “City Day,” Sun Current articles “Firefighter’s retirement marks an end of an era in MH,” “MH Council votes to turn water service over to St. Paul,” AMM News and LMC Friday Fax.