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Issue 07 - Heights Highlights Spring 1986PAGE 1 SPRING, 1986 ISSUE 7 Residents interested in commenting on the proposed changes who did not attend the meetings can contact Scott Thompson at the MTC, 349-7400. Newcomers to the Planning Commission are: Sandra Krebsbach,1832Twin Circle Drive - Sandy brings to the Commission several years of professional experience in teaching, education administration, communications, and public relations. She is also active in several Twin Cities community organizations, including the Citizen's League, Minnesota Symphonic Orchestra, and Family Service. Sandy, her husband Norbert, and their 2 children have lived in Mendota Heights since 1978. T. Ultan Duggan, 813 Hazel Court - Ultan will provide an "international" perspective to the Commission. A native Irishman, he also spent four years teaching in Nigeria, Africa. His first stop in the United States was Arizona, and his second San Francisco. In 1976, Duggan and his wife, Teresa, moved to the Twin Cities, purchasing their home on Hazel Court. The Duggan's own Duggan's Comfort Footwear in the Midway area of St. Paul, and have three children at home. Mendota Heights Park & Recreation Summer T -Ball Boys and Girls T -Ball registration will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, April 16th and 17th from 5:30-8:00 p.m. at the City Offices, 750 South Plaza Drive. The registration fee is $10.00 per person. Boys and girls who have completed Kindergarten, ages 5and 6will playtogether on teams. If a boy or girl turns 7 before June 10th they will play with the 7 and 8 year olds. 7 and 8 year old boys and girls play on Tuesday and Thursday. 5 and 6 years olds play on Monday and Wednesday. Games begin June 11th at 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. The season concludes July 22nd. A game schedule and shirts and caps will be given out at an organization get-together on Tuesday, June ti at Sibley High School ballfield 1:30 p.m. will be for all T-Ballers. Arts and Crafts For all girls and boys ages Kindergarten and older 11:00 - 12:00 Wednesdays at Friendly Hills Park and Thursdays at Marie Park. Program begins Wednesday, June 18th and Thursday, June 19th and concludes July 24th. Cost is $3.00. Registration April 16th and 17th 5:30 - 8:00 p.m. at City Offices, 750 South Plaza Drive. Men's Softball League play begins early May. Games are played at Sibley High School ballfield every Thursday evening through July. Any interested teams should contact Dewey Selander at 455-7112 for more infor- mation. Ladies Softball League play begins early May. Games are played at Sibley High School ballfield every Tuesday evening through July. Any interested teams should contact Dewey Selander at 455-7112 for more information. Two long-term veterans of City planning issues gave their finale performance on January 28th. Cameron Kruse, 902Cheri Lane, had served on the Commission since 1977, chairing that body for seven of those nine years. Joe Stefani, 1820 Valley Curve, had com- pleted almost 12 years on the Commission, two as Vice -Chair. Prior to that, Joe spent three years on the Park and Recreation Commission. Thanks, Cam and Joe, for helping make Mendota Heights a better community. You will be missed! Mend -Eagan Athletic Baseball and Softball Signup Spring sports, boys and girls baseball and softball registrations will be held on Tuesday, April 8th from 6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. and Saturday, April 12th from 9:OOa.m. until 1:00 p.m. at the Mendota Plaza Shopping Center in the mall in front of Country Club. Baseball News: Bill Amadick and Chuck Mastel report that mend -Eagan is re-estab- lishing the Babe Ruth league for 8th, 9th and 10th graders. They also report that there will be 4 travelling teams, at the A level, for the 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th grade players. The baseball season will begin the week of May 5th with Super Saturday on July 19th. Hockey News Did you notice an improvement in the outdoor ice this winter. If you did, you can thank the cooperative efforts of the Mendota Heights City crew led by Terry Blum and 9 mostly nimble footed MEAA members who flooded all four rinks twice a day for 6days in a row in early December. PAGE 2 HEIGHTS HIGHLITES SPRING, 1986 Property Valuation Meeting State law requires county assessors to conduct city-wide property revaluation every four years. Late in 1985, the Dakota County Assessor's Office visited every property in the City to perform a reappraisal of all land and structural values. The result of the revaluation process is important to every property owner, because it is on the valu- ations that your real estate tax is determined. As a general guide, the assessor's market value should be between 80% and 85% of the price your house should sell for. You should receive your notice of the assessor's new valuation of your property on or about April 15th. Representatives from the assessor's office have scheduled "open book meetings" for the purpose of discussing the new valuations with any property owners who have concerns. The meetings will be conducted in the City Hall Council Chambers (lower level of the Dakota County State Bank Building) on Monday and Tuesday, April 28th and 29th, from 11:00 A.M. to 7:30 P.M. and on Wednesday, April 30th from 9:00 A.M. to 7:30 P.M. If you disagree with the valuation on the form, the "open book meetings" will provide you with a very important opportunity to discuss the valuation amounts with the people who determined them. If the assessing staff feels that an error may have been made, they will again visit your property. This could result in a revised valuation and reduced real estate tax liability. The April meetings are not your only opportunity to debate your property valu- ation. On May 21st at 7:30 P.M., the City Council will convene as a Board of Review and the assessor's representatives will again be present and prepared to discuss the valuation with you. POLICE Methodist Church Request City Utilities St. Paul's United Methodist Church, now located on George Street in the west side of St. Paul, has sold their church to the Hmong Methodist Church and propose to construct a new church in Mendota Heights. This new church is to be located on the east side of Dodd Road approximately 1/4 mile north of Trunk Highway 110. The site is in a residential neighborhood so public hearings were conducted by the Planning Commission and City Council to get the neighbors input before approving a plan. The church has a current congregation of about 120. The seating capacity of the new church is to be 170 including 30seats in the choir. Expansion is provided for an additional 100 seats. Their architect Dick Haluptozok of Buetow and Associates has completed a basic design of the church that should integrate well into the neighborhood with a combination of hoop and gable roofs tending to "hug the ground". Also the combination of brick and stained wood siding should augment the residenital character of the structure. The church has dedicated 60 feet of right of way to the City along the north property line of their site. They have petitioned the City to construct a public street wtih utilities along that right of way and will develop some new residential lots on the rear portion of their property in the near future. The construction of the church will begin early this spring with occupancy planned for in the fall. 111!11 111171piIIIIIIIII 11111111111111!11111 111111111111 q • • • The City Council recently approved the promotion of Officer Donn Anderson to the position of Patrol Sergeant. The promotion was effective February 1st. When Anderson's replacement is hired in April or May, the department's strength will be 13 sworn people. That includes the chief of police, captain/investigator, 2 patrol supervisors and 9 patrol officers. Sergeant Anderson is a 6 year veteran of the Mendota Heights Police Department and has a total of 11 years of experience, including stints in Glenn Rock, Wyoming, and Lilydale. Donn will serve a 12 month probation before being permanently ap- pointed by the council. Chief Dennis Delmont requested the position in order to provide more consistent coverage and supervision during the late night/early morning hours. Sgt. Anderson will be taking part in a management training course in February. Applicataons for the patrol officer vacancy were taken until January 31st, and the 131 eligible candidates will take a written exam- ination on March 8th. The top candidates will then be given an oral interview exam- ination in late March. Psychological and medical exams will follow and appointment will be made as soon as possible after the testing process is complete. The 131 applicants are from 7 different states and range from 0-15 years of police experience. I.O.S. MOVES TO M.H. International Office Systems (IOS) business equipment dealership and servna company that is located in Bloomington, Minnesota. They have decided to relocate their corporate headquarters to Mendota Heights and are purchasing a piece of property north of Mendota Heights Road between 1-35E and St. Thomas Academy. IOS very much likes this location because of its exposure to 1-35E,1-494, and the Airport. The site also has great natural beauty in that it has frontage on Rogers Lake. IOS's new building which will be con- structed by Dallas Development Company, is a two story, 50,000 square foot building that will house approximately 115 employees. The company is interested in promoting the health and well being of their employees and to do so is constructing several unique amenities on the site; a racquetball court, a tennis court and boat dock on Rogers Lake for canoeing. The building is scheduled to begin being constructed early this spring and be completed and ready for occupancy in July. In 1972, aircraft impact was such a se, problem for people living along Pilot Kn-,j Road that the Metropolitan Airports Com- mission (MAC) actually acquired and re- moved 45 homes in the neighborhood. Since that time, the over 76 acres of property have stood unoccupied with the exception of the Department of Transportation Maintenance Center that was constructed in 1982. While unsuitable for homesites, the City of Mendota Heights has long contended that the land ought to be put back on the tax rolls by development with business uses that can be made noise compatible. After five years of discussions between MAC and the City, it appears that that goal is about to become reality. United Properties, developer of the Mendota Heights Business Park, have offered to purchase the roughly 50 acres that remain (after highway right-of- way taking). United proposes construction of approximately 660,000 square feet in 16 buildings of office/warehouse and office/ service space, similar in quality to their other structures in the City. This development is projected to take about 10 years, and would add over $300,000,000 of market value to the community's tax base. PAGE 3 HEIGHTS HIGHLITES SPRING, 1986 A VALUED FRIEND "RETIRES Her face is familiar to everyone who has voted in Precinct 1, at Somerset School, in past years. Her friendly, warm attitude has been enjoyed by all who have come in contact with her. Her name is Ruth Grunke, and for more than two decades she has been in charge of election day precinct activities. To our very great regret, Ruth has informed us that she has decided to retire from her election responsibilities. For all of the years she served as precinct chairperson, she did so with considerable responsibility and little or no compensation. No matter how long the hours or how numerous the problems, no one ever heard Ruth complain. Her service to the City and in particular to the voters of Precinct 1 has been invaluable. The City election staff extends a very sincere thank -you to Ruth. While we respect her decision to retire, we will miss her greatly. All of us who have worked with Ruth over the years have benefitted from the Precinct Boundary Changes In June of 1985the City was notified by the State- Planning Agency that the southerly boundary of our Election Precinct 1 did not conform to state requirements and must be changed. A determination was made that as long as one boundary must be changed, the size and boundaries of all four of the City's precincts should be studied. Considerable growth has occurred in all of the precincts since they were established more than twenty years ago. Over the years, voters have had to endure excessively long waits in line and the volume of ballots in the larger precincts has created overly lengthy delays in determining election results. The City Council has approved a staff recommendation to revise the boundaries of Precincts 1, 2 and 4 and create two new precincts, 5 and 6. The new precincts are shown on the map published in this news - experience. We are thankful to have had the opportunity to be associated with such a special lady. letter. You have not yet been personally notified of your precinct designation because permanent polling places have not been formally established for the new precincts. The polling place designations and precinct change notification to you, either by the City or by the County Auditor, will occur this spring. You are invited to call the City Clerk's office at any time for information on your precinct designation or other election infor- mation. We appreciate the inconvenience the .boundary change has caused the political caucus participants, chairpeople and their representatives and thank each of you for your patience and understanding. Election Judges Needed Primary, General and City elections will be conducted this fall, in September and Novem- ber. One of the articles in this issue informs you of the creation of two new election precincts. Election judges will be needed to staff the new precincts during the day and others will be needed to process absentee ballots and to assist in the processing of ballots in the evening. To qualify as an election judge under state regulations, one must be a registered voter who is not a candidate at that election and is not the spouse, parent, child or sibling of an election candidate or election judge in the same precinct or any member of the govern- ing body of the city or county. A balance of judges from each of the major political parties must also be maintained. To qualify under city requirements, one must be patient and understanding, enjoy challenges, and like to work long hours for little pay. I am sure that each of you meets the city requirements. If you also qualify under state regulations, please call City Clerk Kathy Swanson for additional information. Police Chief to Attend FBI Academy Mendota Heights Chief of Police Dennis Delmont has been invited to attend the 146th session of The FBI National Academy held from June 29th to September 12th in Quantico, Virginia. The City council approved Delmont's participation in the intensive 11 week management school which is con- sidered to be one of the best available in the nation. Transportation to and from Quantico, the training, and food and lodging costs are all paid bythefederal government. Mendota Heights will pay Delmont's salary and the cost of one trip home during the session. In return, Chief Delmont has agreed to remain in Mendota Heights for a minimum of two years after graduation. PAGE 4 HEIGHTS HIGHLITES SPRING, 1986 During the summer of 1985 it came to the City's attention that Lake LeMay, located east -of Highway 55, was threatening to flood the homes of nearby residents. The City Council ordered a feasibility report to study the causes of the high water. City staff collected data from the Minn. DNR and the National Weather Bureau and determined that the record rainfall experienced during the past five years was the major factor that has caused the lake to rise. The feasability report looked at several possible solutions both long term and short term. The Council determined the most feasible solution was to install a level control structure and outflow piping system to carry the water out of Lake LeMay to an existing storm sewer located in the industrial park. The city was also asked to install sanitary sewer and watermains to serve an industrial property located west of Hwy. 55 near George's Golf Tee and combine this project with the overflow project. Upon notification by the city of the overflow project, residents of the Lake LeMay area asked the council to also consider extending sanitary sewer and watermains in their direction. If there is widespread interest by the affected property owners it could mean the city would proceed with major utility projects with a combined value of over a million dollars. Not only would existing residents along the lake benefit from the intallation of sewers, watermains, and streets but such a project could increase the value and desirability to developers of many properties in the area. These projects are still under consideration by the council and if approved all or part of the project could be constructed late this fall. Work has begun on the Copperfield Development located off of Huber Drive, between Delaware Street on the east and the Delaware Crossing project on the west. The developer has started the mass grading of the site and utility and street construction should begin prior to May 1st. The developer has reported almost un- presidented interest from buyers with over 50of the 55lots sold and many more potential buyers. The very high response has raised the possibility of proceeding with Phase II of the Copperfield development. The overall development, as approved by the city council, consists of roughly 180single family lots to be developed in three phases. Fire Department December 1st saw a change in officers of the Fire Department. Chief LeRoy Noack resigned as of that date, although he remains as a firefighter. He has over 31 years of service with the Department, and had been Fire Chief since January 1, 1982. The City Council has appointed John Maczko, 751 Cheyenne Lane, as the new Chief. John has been a member of the Department for seven years, and has served as Assistant Chief since August, 1984. Bill Lerbs, 774 Mohican Lane, has been appointed Assistant Chief. Bill is a 19year veteran of the Department. Maczko and Lerbs had been serving in an Acting capacity since December 1st, and were given permanent status appointment by the City Council on February 4th, after they received a vote of confidence from the members of the Department and a favorable recommendation of the City Administrator. Recently the city received bids for the Northend Street Reconstruction project which were $50,000 below the engineers estimate of $340,000. This will be good news for the effected property owners because it will reduce assessments and make it more economical to include curb and gutter on Fremont and Hiawatha Avenues. The rehabilitation project, which includes storm sewers, street resurfacing and concrete curb and gutters, also includes Chippewa Avenue, Garden Lane, and Ellen Street. Before construction begins the council will discuss the proposed improvements with residents on Tuesday, April 15th in the City Council chambers. CITY HALL PLANS PROCEED The City Hall Committee, a citizens task force studying City office space needs has come to three conclusions: 1. Existing leased office space in the Dakota County State Bank building is inade- quate housing for City departments; 2. It will be more cost effective to meet additional space needs by constructing and owning a City Hall, rather than continuing to lease; 3. The preferred site for a City Hall is the "Civic Center" property at the northwest corner of Lexington and Highway 110. The City currently leases just over 5,000 square feet, not including the Community Room where the City Council and Planning Commission meet. While some City depart- ments have acceptable space, others, notably Police, are starting to feel "squeezet4" they respond to community growth. Working with architects Lindberg -Pierce, the citizens committee and City staff have projected future space needs of approxi- mately 12,000square feet net or 15,000square feet gross. This includes Council chambers and other common meeting space. An analysis of cost alternatives revealed that after the year 2000, the annual cost of ownership would be less than rental, and, of course, when the structure is completely paid for (20 years) the annual cost would be substantially less. After considering six alternative sites, the Committee also came to the conclusion that the Civic Center site was the preferred location. It offers ready access to most of the comunity, and best of all, the City already owns it! The architects are at work on schematic concepts for the location. The City Hall committee hopes to complete its work later this spring by sending a report of findings and recommendations to the City Council. The Council will then make the final decision on how to proceed. From: City,Of Mendota Heights 750 Plaza Drive South Bulk Rate Mendota Heights, Mn. 55120 U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 6' St. Paul, Mn. 5: POSTAL PATRON CARRIER ROUTE MENDOTA HEIGHTS, MN PRESORT 55118 AND 55120