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2013-03-01 Friday News March 1, 2013 Dates to Remember: March 5, 2013 City Council 7:00 p.m. March 12, 2013 Parks & Rec. Comm. 6:30 p.m. March 13, 2013 Airport Relations Comm. 7:00 p.m. March 19, 2013 City Council 7:00 p.m. Attachments: Pipeline, Just the Facts, Powers and Possibilities of Aging Flyer Friday News Mendota Heights Weekly Report on City Activities Mendota Heights City Hall 1101 Victoria Curve www.mendota-heights.com (651) 452-1850 State of the City Mayor Sandra Krebsbach presented the 2013 State of the City Address on Wednesday morn- ing at City Hall. The mayor shared successes from 2012, and her goals for the new year. You can watch the State of the City Address on demand at www.mendota-heights.com—click on Your Government, and then Watch Meet- ings Live or On Demand. You can also find the PowerPoint presentation from the address on the city web page. Community Conversation on Aging Aging isn’t just about getting older, it’s about transitioning into a new phase of life. Whether you are planning for yourself, or for loved ones, the key is finding resources to stay active, en- gaged and healthy. DARTS is coordinating a community conversa- tion on aging, Wednesday, March 21, 2013, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Mendakota Country Club. The evening will include an informal presenta- tion on demographics and resources in the ar- ea. The heart of the event will be an open- ended conversation on how our community can be better prepared to meet the needs of our ag- ing citizens. Please see the attached flyer for more details. Warming Houses Closing Warming houses will close for the season Sun- day evening, March 3, 2013. Thank you to Ter- ry Blum and his crew who did a great job of maintaining ice conditions once again this year. Public Works The Parks Crew continues to flood and sweep the ice rinks. Hazardous materials were hauled to the eco-site. The Utilities Crew continued with the housekeeping at the shop. The lift stations were shoveled and plowed. Utilities Crew met with the electricians about the final work to be done on the trailer mounted generator which should be in service in the next couple of weeks. The Streets Crew had an early morning start over the weekend and all streets were plowed and sanded. Mailboxes are being fixed. Truck 301 was picked up from the mechanic where the new plow installed. Bridge decks were cleaned on Mendota Heights Road and Wagon Wheel Trail. Engineering City Projects (construction year) Dodd Road/Highway 110 Intersection Pedestrian Improvements (2013) – Xcel Energy will be working with the City’s consultant on the relocation of a power pole necessary for the trail relocation. Final plans are being routed through MnDOT for approval, and bidding is anticipated in April/May with construction beginning in late spring. Hunter Lane/Orchard Place Neighborhood Improvements (2013) – Staff held a neighborhood open house on Wednesday evening at City Hall. Staff presented the plans as they were best designed to meet the parameters directed by City Council when the project was ordered last October. As it appears, the mixed curb type directed by Council will be accomplished by Hunter Lane being reconstructed with barrier style curb and Orchard Place being reconstructed with surmountable curb. Approval of the final plans and authorization to bid the project will be brought before Council at the March 19th meeting. Final plan completion is expected in March with bidding and contract award in April/May and construction starting in June. Crown Point & Overlook Neighborhood Rehabilitations (2013) – Design plans are substantially complete. Final plans are anticipated to be before City Council for approval and bid authorization at their March 5th meeting. The Pipeline N E W S L E T T E R Public Works Engineering Code Enforcement March 1, 2013 Construction start is anticipated in early summer. In addition to the street rehabilitation work and the trail rehabilitation (see the next project), the bid will include preventative maintenance (sealcoating) in the Evergreen Knoll, Hidden Creek Trail, and the Bachelor/Stanwich neighborhood. Lexington Avenue Pedestrian Trail, Hwy 110 to Douglas Road (2013) – Staff is including plans for rehabilitation (new pavement) of this trail with the Crown Point & Overlook Neighborhood Rehabilitation project. Construction is expected this summer. Dakota County has included this in their Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) and will assist with project construction cost. Highway 13 Trail Connection (2013) – Staff is planning construction of a trail connection along the south side of Highway 13 to connect the pedestrian trail from Riverside Lane to Lilydale Road. This will close one of the identified trail gaps in the City. The project may be delayed until 2014 if MnDOT can include it for funding as part of their trail gap program for 2014 (Highway 13 is a State Right-of-Way). If not chosen for MnDOT funding in 2014, the City intends to construct the connection in 2013. County Projects North Urban Regional Trail (NURT) Realignment and Greenway Study – Dakota County has received a grant through the Metropolitan Council to develop a greenway network throughout the County. Part of the proposed Greenway Plan includes realignment of the NURT between Warrior Drive and Mendota Road in Mendota Heights and Garlough Environmental Magnet School in West Saint Paul. One of the realignment alternatives being considered would route the NURT through School District 197 property at Henry Sibley High School, parallel to Warrior Drive fro m Mendota Road to the Delaware and Marie Avenue intersection. Other alternatives include utilizing the existing Delaware Avenue Trail and building a trail through the Dodge Nature Center’s property east of Delaware Avenue. The County will be presenting the alignment alternatives for discussion to the Parks and Recreation Commission at their March 12th meeting and the commission’s thoughts will be forwarded to the City Council at their March 19th meeting. Dakota County expects to select their alignment alternative in April. State Projects (construction year) Highway 13 Reconstruction: Mendota to I-35E (2015) – MnDOT is developing the project scope for reconstructing the remaining section of Highway 13 through Lilydale. The project would rebuild the portion of the highway left out of last summer’s resurfacing project from 2nd Street in Mendota to I-35E in Lilydale. The Lower Mississippi River Watershed Management Organization (LMRWMO) and the City of Lilydale have asked that additional storm water drainage be included in the project to help prevent or slow erosion to the Mississippi River bluff. Since this is an inter - jurisdictional drainage pattern, the LMRWMO performed a cost share calculation that divided the cost of the additional drainage work as 89% Lilydale and 11% Mendota Heights. Mendota Heights has $40,000 budgeted for the 2015 scheduled work, and since part of that drainage comes from the County Right-of-Way of Lexington Avenue, Dakota County has budgeted a portion of the Mendota Heights share in their CIP. At this time, the MnDOT project does not have funding for the project, but MnDOT staff is working to get the project programmed for the 2015 construction year. The City of Lilydale had written MnDOT to formally ask for project funding as soon as possible. Mendota Heights supports Lilydale’s request and will be providing supporting correspondence next week. 2/28/13 Heights Police Department Support Staff Kim Henning Susan Donovan Trista Miller Becky Pentel Police Officers Jerry Murphy Scott Patrick John Larrive Bobby Lambert Tanner Spicer Todd Rosse Chad Willson Jeff VonFeldt Steven Meyer Denise Urmann Michael Shepard Peyton Fleming School Resource Officer Jennifer Fordham Investigations Mario Reyes Chad Willson Sergeants Neil Garlock Brian Convery Eric Petersen Reserves Randy Pentel Jarrod Spicer Jim Knox Jeff Parker George Castillo Chaplains Frances Cuenca Joel Detlefsen Lynn Liberman Butch Millett Sue Plucker John Snider David Wick Chief Mike Aschenbrener Accident/Driver Evaluation Thursday 1057 hours Officer John Larrive responded to an accident, finding the vehicle had gone up over a curb and into a stone pillar of a building. The driver informed him he hit the gas pedal vs. the brake pedal. The driver was fine and checked out by medics; however, a request for driver evaluation was submitted. Identity Theft Thursday 1702 hours Residents came in to report fraudulent charges had been made on the credit cards. They informed Officer Lambert that their mail was held by USPS while they were on vacation. While gone, they were notified that fraudulent charges had been made on their credit cards, and that new cards had been issued while they were gone and being held. Accounts were immediately closed but they found that the thief(s) had racked up about $800. Investigation is pending. Stolen Vehicle Thursday 1748 hours Complainant came in to report his vehicle stolen and was accompanied by the previous owners. He had previously tried to report it stolen but was unable to provide enough vehicle info or proof of ownership. Finally, both and he the previous owners were able to provide Officer Lambert with the current documentation and the vehicle was entered into NCIC. The good news is that w/in a week, the car was recovered by Savage PD; the bad news was that it was found in the ditch, engine running, stripped down. Domestic Assault Friday 1124 hours Officers Lambert and Larrive responded to a report of a domestic assault where the wife was in fear of her husband and their young daughter was in the home. The husband, whose behavior had declined since losing his job, started an argument and was texting angry messages to his wife, family and friends. When she tried to take the phone away, things escalated. He threw the remote control at her, hitting her, threw furniture and then locked her and the baby out of the apartment. Upon meeting with officers, his erratic behavior continued and he agreed to get checked out at the hospital. He was also issued a citation/arrest for 5th Degree Domestic Assault. “Just the Facts” The latest news from the Mendota Heights Police Department 2/28/13 Vandalism Friday 1639 hours Victim reported to Sergeant Garlock that a student, while horsing around, literally jumped into the side of her vehicle, damaging a portion of the vehicle. Parents were involved and will handle the repair of damages civilly (without charges). The civil part might be debated by Sergeant Garlock who made multiple phone calls between the parents to bring the matter to satisfactory closure. Theft from Vehicle Friday 1748 hours Two different homeowners reported their vehicles had been rifled through and some items stolen, mostly small change. Case to investigations. AOA/ATL Friday 1949 hours Officer Todd Rosse assisted MN State Patrol and Edina PD in an attempt to locate a male with Alzheimer’s, partially blind, and lost. Luckily he had brought a phone along and was reporting his location as 35E/Lone Oak Rd (Eagan), had pulled over and had his flashers on. But then, he changed his location to Long Lake/Hwy 26 (not Eagan). State Patrol and Edina were able to locate the male. Cleared. Felony DWI Friday 2035 hours Sergeant Eric Petersen and Officer Peyton Fleming responded to report of a property damage crash near the PD, and quickly saw two vehicles approaching the entrance to the PD and both pulled over. Officer Fleming soon learned the accident had actually happened in St Paul. Sgt Petersen spoke with driver of the truck and it soon became apparent the driver was intoxicated. He admitted to the crash and leaving the scene, adding it wasn’t his fault, ultimately admitting that he had three beers that evening. The testing did not go well, and the PBT closed the deal with a .190 BAC. He was placed under arrest and back at the station, agreed to testing, but requested a secondary test as well. That test was also a .190. His driving record showed not only a prior felony DWI conviction, but that he was also Cancelled - Inimical to Public Safety, and had violated his Ignition Interlock requirement. So, the plates were impounded, the vehicle is to be forfeited and he was taken to jail on felony charges. Closed by Arrest. DAS/Possess Marijuana in MV Saturday 0508 hours Officer Spicer clocked a vehicle going 75 in a 55 zone and upon initiating the stop, found two males in the car. When they opened the window to speak with him, the smell of marijuana came pouring out. The driver was unable to produce his DL, assuring the officer it was valid, but he did provide registration and insurance info. When Officer Fleming arrived to assist, he had the driver exit the vehicle, asking if there was any marijuana in the vehicle; he produced the baggie he had on him. Search incident to arrest produced more marijuana in the car. When DL’s were checked, it was found the driver was suspended. The two men called for a ride, the driver was given a citation and officers cleared by arrest. Wolf! Sunday 1145 hours Reporting party cried “Wolf” and Sergeant Garlock came running. No wolf found. Nine turkeys were located; no charges but all were warned for falsely reporting a critter. 2/28/13 Egging/Vandalism Sunday 1145 hours Sergeant Neil Garlock responded to a call of vandalism, when the homeowner found the front of the house had been egged, and bacon was wrapped around the mailbox. The neighbor reported hearing a crash sound in the wee hours of the morning, but hadn’t seen anything at the time. No permanent damage reported. Parents please note if you are missing bacon from the freezer it is time to talk with your kids about the lack of social benefit of bacon wrapping a mailbox. Neighbor Dispute Sunday 1414 hours Officer John Larrive responded to a call from a complainant regarding her neighbor. This is not a new location for us, and once again, the neighbor displayed his middle finger (a much more mild action considering past behaviors). This time, the son received this kind “message.” No further action. DAR/Possession Sunday 2312 hours Officer Fleming stopped a vehicle for a cracked windshield and upon approaching the vehicle, immediately smelled marijuana. Driver was searched and he found a marijuana pipe on the driver, but nothing else in the vehicle. He was also driving on a revoked license, hoping his Florida ID might suffice. He was cited for DAR and possessing drug paraphernalia. Stolen License Plates Monday 0925 hours Officer Larrive responded to a business on report of plates stolen off a commercial vehicle that seemed to have occurred over the weekend. It was soon learned that this plate had been used, on a different vehicle, during a theft of gas in Eagan on Wednesday, 2/20. Suspicious Person Monday 1149 hours Officer Patrick observed a suspicious party, now parked in a driveway who seemed to have been avoiding police. The man, when approached, was slightly embarrassed yet relieved when he learned it was still legal to drive while talking on the phone. Cleared. Warrant Attempt Tuesday 1727 hours Officer Peyton Fleming made contact at a local home with a warrant suspect. The Ramsey County Sheriff emailed warrant information from earlier in the day on a no show. Officer Fleming spoke with the man who had multiple medical conditions, gave a convincing story as to why it was not likely him. Officer Fleming spoke with the wife by phone, the medical issues were confirmed. Provide wife phone info for warrant division and cleared. Will check back in 24 hours. Theft Wednesday 1546 hours Officer Scott Patrick spoke with a complainant who reported that large planters had been stolen from outside their business. Suspect information provided; follow-up pending. Have a great weekend! Mike & Kim