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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1st Q 09 l�f City of O ak Inside this issue; ` City Hall Facility Update Geothermal City Hall Facility 2 On January 13 2009 the City Council approved the incorporation of a GEOTHER- Continued from page i MAL heating and cooling system for the new City Hall Facility. A GEOTHERMAL system utilizes the earth's stable underground temperature of approximately 55 degrees Parks Commission 2 Fahrenheit via the installation of numerous underground "wells" whereby intercon- Vacancies [ nected pipes are inserted and liquid is pumped through and the heat /coolness of the earth is exchanged through the pipe wall (heat sink). This water is then circulated into the Have a power building for heating and cooling purposes. There is no actual extraction of water from outage backup plan the ground, essentially, the system is a large sealed `radiator' placed underground with numerous interconnected wells. Winter Parking 3 Restrictions While this system will add approximately $250,000 to the total cost of constructing the building, it is estimated that these costs will be recovered in approximately 15 years at current natural gas prices. Should natural gas prices rise, the cost recovery will likely be Pet Owner 3 sooner. Thereafter, the City Hall Facility would operate its heating and cooling systems Reminders at little cost compared to a traditional system. What is included in 4 It is worth noting that the City has investigated the possibility of utilizing the current trash pickup water mains adjacent to the City Hall as the `heat -sink' which would have Recycling 4 negated most of the required costs to Information install a GEOTHERMAL system by avoiding the cost of drilling numer- Arborist S ous wells. Ultimately, the MN Dept News of Health discouraged the City's pro- posal citing concerns about thermal fluctuations. The City will continue Police 6 to explore this issue, but has affrrma -�. I Files i tively selected to proceed with a tra- T11 m -• ditional GEOTHERMAL system at Prevent theft from 7 ( this time. North and West elevations and color scheme of new facility your vehicle Other Green Initiatives Reserve a city 7 Beyond the direct financial cost and recovery issues with the decision to install a GEO- park shelter THERMAL system, the City is taking this positive step towards reducing its `greenhouse emissions' by reducing its reliance on fossil fuels to operate. It is possible Recyclables going g that in the fixture, cities and other entities would be mandated by the Federal Govern - to Eureka Recycling meat and /or State of Minnesota to reduce its greenhouse emissions, with the City taking Story continued on page 2 City Hall Facility Update... continued from page 1 actions now, fixture investment into retrofitting the City Hall Facility will likely be reduced. 7 In addition to the installation of a GEOTHERMAL system, the City has explored the implementation of other `green' elements including, the placement of a rain - garden to filter storm run -off from the parking lot and roof, installing low -flow fixtures, incorporating passive solar elements and roof overhangs, requiring that all building materials contain low to zero VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) and where possible have all materials be manufactured in the United States, preferably within 500 miles of Oak Park Heights. The City explored the possibility of seeking official LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification for the building but such process would have required an additional investment of over $35,000+/ - simply for documentation purposes. While this standard is important, it is not required and the City instead is going ahead with apparent and practical `green initiatives' as mentioned. The City is also exploring the possibil- ity for certain LEED requirements on building materials. Timeline Also at the January 13 meeting, the City Council also finalized the project timeline. Specifically, the final plans are to be provided to the City Council on February 24 for final approval and would then be placed out for bids. The bidding advertisement and review of submitted bids process will take four to six weeks. Upon review of all received qualified bids, the City Council hopes to award a building contract in late March /early April with con- struction to begin in early May upon the removal of road weight limits. It is estimated that the construction time line would carry into 2010 for occupancy of the new building and demolition of the current facility thereafter. Detailed building elevations, sample materials and color selections can be viewed at the Oak Park Heights City Hall — located at 14168 Oak Park Blvd. Call 439 -4439 if you have any specific questions. Use of Andersen Windows in Citv Hall Facilitv Recently, there has been some local discussion of the City possibly selecting to exclude the use of Andersen Windows in the New City Hall Facility. In fact, the City Council has entertained no such discussion and has made no such determination. To date, the City has investigated the use of both typical aluminum commercial windows as well as comparable commercial products that may be available from Andersen Corporation or other window manufacturers. Under Minnesota Law (MN Stat. 471.35 and its related case law) the City Council is generally precluded from specifying by exclusive name particular products in a public bidding process. Additionally, the City may not craft a bid specification that effectively disqualifies all other possible material suppliers as this is also considered violation of such statute. It is the general intention of this law that the taxpayer receives the best product at the best price. Violations of these laws may be punishable as 'gross misdemeanors' by the Washington County Attorney's Office under MN Stat. 471.37. At this time it is anticipated that the bidding process will include the option to use both typical aluminum win- dows and /or `wood framed' windows. Unfortunately, there is no guaranty that the City may provide during the bidding process that will ensure the use of a specific type of window manufacturer. Again, pursuant to Minne- sota law, the City may not specify the use of Andersen Windows, meaning that other manufacturer's products may be `called -out' by general contractors in their bid submissions. Once the bidding process is complete, addi- tional options may be available to the City to address further concerns. As this process progresses, the City Council will endeavor to make the best choices that first comply with Min- nesota bidding law and what is both good for the City and the City Hall Facility Project. If you have any ques- tions on this particular item please call Eric Johnson, City Administrator, at 439 -4439. Notes from Public Works 7 Have a backup plan in the event of a power outage There are a growing number of people in * Batteries p our community who depend on home * Battery - powered radio or television " °" °" medical equipment such as oxygen, di- * Non - electric alarm clock alysis machines, nebulizers, IV and nu- * Bottled water and non - perishable trition pumps, and CPAP breathing food This device is called a masks. In the event of a power outage, * Manual can opener touchpad. The touch - it is imperative to have a backup plan. * Extension cords (for partial outages) pad is used to conven- First aid kit iently obtain a read - Have an outage kit that is kept in an ing of your water me- accessible location. The kit should in- You may wish to also have a stand -by ter without having to clude the following items: generator. enter our house. Be * A phone that does not require elec- Y tricity (note: cordless phones do re- To report a power outage, contact Xcel vigilant to reattach quire electricity) Energy's outage line at 1- 800 -895- the touchpad after * Flashlights 1999. any home improve- ment construction projects, especially re Roadway and right -of -way trim and maintenance requirements - siding. Owner main- tenance is not re- The City of Oak Park Heights, like most cities, has road right of way and pavement quired; however to be placed for neighborhood use, transportation and emergency access. The adjacent helpful to the city's homeowner maintains this boulevard portion of the city property in exchange for the meter readers a small added yard and lawn use. cleared path to the Homeowner ResaonsibiliVr touchpad in the win - Hedges and bushes should never be planted within 10 feet of the road. If older plant- ter months would be ings have started to encroach in to this area they must be removed or pruned and appreciated. maintained so that there is always a minimum of 6 feet of boulevard available on the side of the street and /or so that visibility is maintained. The homeowner is responsible for mowing and controlling the grass in the boulevard area. Low level plantings may be placed and maintained in the boulevard, however, Please help your they must never interfere with visibility of signage or other traffic. The city has no liability if they are damaged. If these become a nuisance they will require removal. neighbors and your - The city does some snow sod repairs each spring by adding black dirt and grass seed selves by shoveling only. The homeowner must water the repairs as part of their maintenance require- ments. around fire hydrants. Utility and road work in the right of way requires contractor restoration of the grass. We hope they are There is no claim available for other types of plantings. Irrigation lines in this area are not needed, but criti- strictly the homeowner's responsibility. cal minutes can be Do not fill or plant items in a drainage area. These are designed to move storm wa- saved if neighbors ter off site at a controlled rate to purify the water, remove contaminants and avoid erosion or damage downstream. The city must calculate the total amount of water keep their hydrants and speed at which that water will move during a rain event to protect the lakes and rivers around us. All storm water is discharged to the St. Croix River. Please respect accessible for emer- it. gency use. MENOMONEE 111111 Parks Commission Vacancies 7 The City is seeking applicants to fill two openings on the Parks Commission. The Parks Commission is comprised of five members, who are appointed by the City Council to serve on the Commission in an advisory capacity. The objectives of the Parks Commission are to make recommendations to the City Council, which will guide the development of city parks and related services and facilities. Commission term commitments are three (3) years and run from January to December. The Commission typically meets on the 3r Mon- day of each month at 6:30 p.m. and periodically holds workshops or other special meetings. If you are a resident of Oak Park Heights and are looking for an interesting and rewarding opportunity to participate in development and governance of Oak Park Heights, contact City Administrator Eric Johnson at 651- 439 -4439 or by email at eajohnson @cityofoakparkheights.com. Applications may also be printed from the City's website: www.cityofoakparkheights.com. Winter Parking Restrictions City Meetings Winter parking restrictions are put in lace in an effort to enable (typical dates — subject p 9 p p to change) snow removal equipment the opportunity to do a top quality and effi- cient job in removing snow from city streets. Please be aware that CitvCouncil: these parking restrictions are in place AND ENFORCED regardless of 2nd and 4th Tuesdays at whether or not there has been recent snowfall. Please help us by 7:00 p.m. obeying the winter parking restrictions. Planninz Commission: * * No parking on city streets from November 1 through 2nd Thursday at'7:00 March 31 between 1:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. ** p.m. Parks Commission: 3rd Monday at 6:30 p.m. Street light out in your neighborhood? Contact City Hall Your help in identifying street lights that are not working is very im- City meetings are broad- portant, as we rely solely on your notification assistance. Once City cast live on cable channel staff is aware of a light out, we contact Xcel Energy immediately to 16. help make sure the light is repaired in a reasonable amount of time. To report a City street light out, please contact City Hall at 439 -4439. Agendas and Minutes are posted on the City Web- If ossible have the following information available: site: p g WWW.cityofoakpark > Property address and /or nearest cross street to where the light heights.com pole is located. • Whether the light is located: on a corner, midblock, or in a cul -de- sac. • The nature of the problem (i.e. light is out, light is blinking, light is broken). No tice of Water Rate Increase 7 Effective January 1, 2009, the City of Oak Park Heights established a municipal water rate for all users as follows: 1. A quarterly minimum charge of $26.24 for the first 15,000 gallons of water used per quarter (last year's rate was $24.35). 2. A rate of $1.78 per 1,000 gallons for water used above 15,000 gallons up to 50,000 gallons (last year's rate was $1.62). 3. A rate of $2.44 per 1,000 gallons for water used above 50,000 gallons up to 99,000 gallons (last year's rate was $2.22). 4. A rate of $2.94 per 1,000 gallons for water use above 99,000 gallons (last year's rate was $2.67). Sign up for auto pay With auto pay, there is no need to waste time know the date and amount to be withheld from writing and mailing a check. Paying your util- your account. ity bill electronically allows you to save time and money on stamps and late fees. The If you are interested in participating, please amount you owe on your utility bill is auto- call or stop by City Hall to obtain an enroll - matically withdrawn from the account you des- ment form. The form is also available on the ignate on the billing due date each month. You City's website, under Forms & Handouts. City will continue to receive your bill so that you Hall phone number is 439 - 4439• ................................... ..................... e. e. e. e. e. e. e............................... ,.,.... ..............e.e.e.e.e.e.e.e.. 'Atten Pet Owners Leash Law Reminder The City of Oak Park Heights has a leash laAv in effect that prohibits pets from running at large. Any dog or cat that is off the premises of the owner and not under the physical control (bA leash or b� Voice) of the owner or another designated person is in violation of this Ordinance. NN hen -, are out Avalking -, pet, please remember to bring a plastic bag. Pet owners are required bA - City Ordinance to clean up pet Avaste on public and private property Removal and proper dis- posal of pet Avaste helps keep our City clean and health Pet Licenses ' All dogs and cats in the City for snore than 30 days are required to have a City Pet License. There is no charge for this service and it could save -, pet from a trip to the animal shelter. Bring proof of A-our pet's rabies vaccination to City- Hall to receive a pet license and tag. •®• IN I What's included in trash pickup? 7 In addition to the typical garbage and recycling pickup, the City also covers the disposal of yard waste, large household items, and `white- VEOLIA goods' such as televisions, refrigerators, couches, chairs, desks, water- E INVII F-1-0114ME III heaters, stoves, dishwashers, dryers, etc. In order to have these items picked up in a timely fashion, please contact Judy Tetzlaff at City Hall, 651- 439 -4439, at least two days prior to collection day so that the special truck may be dispatched to your home. Some items are not included in your monthly fee are extra bags of garbage not placed in your container. The City's waste hauler, Veolia, will bill you $1.50 per bag. Some other items that are picked up for a fee are carpet, sinks, toilets and construction debris. You will be billed by Veolia at a regulated rate as moni- tored by the City. In the event you receive mny billing from Veolia, except for the Annual Washington County Environmental Charge, please contact the City Administrator at 651- 439 -4439 to ensure that the billing is correct. REMINDER!! Waste and Recyclable pick -up is every THURSDAY, unless the week contains one of the six holidays — New Years Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. During those weeks, collection will fall on FRIDAY. Recycling incentive program ow to sort your recycling The City of Oak Park Heights has a recycling Materials collected by Veolia for recycling incentive program. The City awards a prize must be sorted into two categories to make Of $25.00 or a fire extinguisher and /or sure they get recycled. Use paper bags and smoke detector. Residents participating in recycling bins to separate your materials. Do curbside recycling are picked randomly twice not use plastic bags. Place textiles in a a month. separate paper bag from everything else. Recycling benefits the environment in count- Paper & Cardboard Bottles & Cans less ways: it reduces the amount of natural resources used to make new products, it Newspapers .Steel and Alumi- saves energy, it prevents water and air pollu- Magazines, Mail num Cans and Foil tion including greenhouse gas emissions, and and Office Paper Glass bottles and it reduces waste. This means that the simple Corrugated Card- jars (any color) act of recycling in your daily life provides sig- board .Milk cartons and nificant protection for our environment and boxes Plastic bottles oxboard /soda juice boxes reduces global warming. b . Phonebooks (1 and 2) Need another recycling bin, contact City Hall at 439 - 4439• Thank r recycling! SOMEONE Garlic Must ar Tree I s? Just when you thought it was with 3 -8 rounded, scallop- plant is often first seen safe to go back in the woods edged leaves, which resemble along trails and streams and If yoti are an after buckthorn was re- a large "creeping Charlie" is more common in shady O a k Pa r k moved, there is another inva- plant. These leaves stay areas. Remove plants by H e 2 g h t s sive plant to tackle which is green all winter. It produces hand - pulling just before also invading native wood- a flower stalk, I -4 ft. tall the flowering, or cut plants resident, and lands. This is an herbaceous 2 " year of growth, in May close to the ground as plant have a problem (non- woody) plant called and early June, with white is flowering, but before with a tree Or Garlic Mustard. This plant flowers having 4 petals. The seed develops. Do not was brought to North Amer- leaves and stems smell like leave pulled or cut plants shrub, such Cis ica from Europe over a hun- garlic when crushed. Small on the ground, as seeds can (In insect Or a dred years ago to be used in black seeds, in 1-2 in. long, still ripen. Do not compost disease, have cooking and medicines. Be- thin, pod -like capsules, are plants, as most compost cause it has no natural ene- produced in the summer. piles do not become hot P l a n t i n g mies here, the plant has Once ripe, the seeds scatter enough to kill the seeds. questions, Or spread. It is a biennial, need- on the ground and can be Biological controls, primar- list want to ing two years to go from a carried by animals, and peo- ily insects, are being re- seed to producing seed. The ple who walk through the searched, but are not avail- have a plant first year it grows as a ro- area. The seeds are also car- able at this time. identified, call sette, close to the ground, ried by running water. This D r. Kathy ___________________ Widin, the OPH Feeding birds in the winter Arborist, at 439 - Birds have a tough time finding food in the winter, with snow, ice and cold, but few 4439 Ett. 2,52. insects and growing plants. To provide food for birds during the cold months, add She can either one or more seed feeders and a suet feeder to your yard. Birds especially love answer yotir black oil sunflower seeds, but you can also offer other mixes with striped sunflower seed, safflower seed and peanuts. Thistle seed is particularly loved by finches and question over chickadees, but is best put in a feeder especially for thistle. Suet feeders attract the phone or many species, and woodpeckers, which don't often come to seed feeders, will read- m a k e a n ily feed on suet. Having native plants in your yard, which form and hold onto fruits appointment for and seeds, will also help provide winter food for wildlife. Especially prized are crab- apples with persistent fruit, highbush cranberry and other viburnums, dogwood a site visit. This shrubs, hazelnuts, sunflowers, black -eyed susans and purple conflowers, as well as service is paid evergreens with seed - bearing cones. Animals will also feed on seeds and fruits in for by the City of the winter. To keep squirrels and chipmunks out of bird seed, use a squirrel -proof feeder. Oak Park Heights. Spring Seminar The OPH Arborist, Dr. Kathy Widin, will the St. (:roil CT.iI; Savanna Chapter of . . pre`, interested in native ent a seminar for residents on Wild Ones, a roue present group 1 "Healthy Trees For Our Landscapes" on plants and natural landscaping, the City of Thursday April l6th, from 7 -8 p.m. at the Oak Parr Heights and the City of Stillwa- Family Means building at 1875 North- ter. Refreshments and socializing at 6:30. western Ave. in Stillwater (just north of Come and find out about the native trees Valley Ridge Mall). This seminar is free suitable for our area, and how to care for and open to the public. It is sponsored by them. Oak ark Heights Police Files From the desk of Chief Brian DeRosier I i , I I I I would like to take a few minutes of your time to talk about traffic rules and conduct. As we are all aware traffic is increasing steadily in the area. This creates many issues within communities ranging from nuisances to safety issues. So what can we do? The first step is policing ourselves. We all need to respect our neighborhoods and others on the road be it a vehicle, bicycle, or pedestrian. If we do not police ourselves within the community we can't expect others to do any different. As the traffic increases drivers tend to seek other routes to avoid areas which they feel are congested or will slow them down. When they try to avoid those areas they find al- ternate routes which often lead them into other residential neighborhoods. This in reality does little to solve their perceived problem, however it creates new problems for the resi- dential streets that were never intended to be through streets, creating increased nui- sance traffic and safety issues for those residents in the area being used as a perceived shortcut. Blocking intersections while waiting for a traffic light or other reasons is illegal. I see this frequently at the frontage road intersections. If you cannot proceed completely through the intersection you need to stop. Stopping back from the intersection and leav- ing it open and visible allows the other traffic to flow and reduces the congestion. Speed and aggressive driving accomplishes little for anyone. A speeding driver rarely gains any real time in comparison to following the speed limits. Aggressive driving such as quick acceleration, weaving back and forth between lanes, rolling stop signs or ignor- ing other traffic control devices also gain the driver little as compared to the increased safety issues they create. A vehicle traveling at 35mph will cause 33% more damage and injury to a person or vehicle struck than if the vehicle was traveling 5mph less at 30 mph. As we all do our part to police ourselves and respect each other's neighborhoods we all gain a more livable community. Tips to prevent theft from your vehicle: By following these simple steps you can greatly reduce your chances of being a victim: • Don't leave valuables in your car. • This sounds like "common sense," but if you leave items of value in plain view your car is automatically a target. • If you must leave valuable items in your car, place items out of sight before reaching your destination. • Plan your shopping / errands so that you don't load your trunk until you are ready to drive to another destination; never open a trunk, fill it full of valuables, close it, and then just walk away. If your trunk can be opened from inside your car without a key, lock this feature when you are not in your car or have it disabled. • Leave no sign that there might be valuables "out of sight" in your vehicle, such as docking stations or connector cables, very few auto break -ins are random. If you have an after - market stereo /CD- player with a removable faceplate, remove it. • Try to park in well - traveled and well -lit areas: • Large lots are the preferred target of thieves, so try to choose a well - light, visible, parking spot where there is lots of vehicular and pedestrian movement when possible. • Lock ALL your vehicle's doors and set your alarm or anti -theft device even if you plan to be gone for only a brief time. Every year, the police take hundreds of theft reports from unlocked vehicles where the owner was only going to be gone "just for a second ". • Mark your valuables! • As a last line of defense, mark your valuables. Recording serial numbers is a good idea, but many serial numbers are on removable "labels ", rather than "engraved" into items. Don't use your social security number; use your driver's license number instead. If you would like to mark your valuables and need an engraver, the Oak Park Heights Police Depart- ment can loan you an engraver. Please contact us at 651- 439 -4723 Monday through Friday, 8:00 — 4:00 PM, to arrange for you to pick one up. Reserve a City Park Shelter Are you thinking about having a get- together or a family reunion? The Brekke, Valley View, and Autumn Hills Park shelter build- ings can be reserved free of charge for your event. The Autumn Hills Park Shelter does require a refundable $100 deposit. Brekke Park is located on Omar Avenue south of the former St. Croix Mall. The park has a covered shelter building with rest - rooms as well as a tot lot, baseball diamonds, playground equipment, and barbeque grills. Valley View Park is located on Osgood Avenue at the edge of the city limits. This park has a covered shelter building, picnic ar- eas, playgrounds and a beautiful passive park area with trails, a prairie restoration area and wetlands. Autumn Hills Park is located at 5697 Norwich Parkway off of 58th Street adjacent to the Boutwells Landing campus. The park contains meandering trails, trail access parking, and playground equipment. It has a 2,000+ square foot shelter, which includes a covered gathering area with a small kitchen /serving area, men's and women's restrooms, and a water fountain. You may use the City's online reservation form to reserve either the Brekke Park or Valley View Park shelters. You may obtain the Autumn Hills Park Shelter reservation documents and information online as well. Or, you may call or visit City Hall anytime to reserve any of the shelters for your next event! City of Oak Park Heights 14168 Oak Park Blvd. N. PO Box 2007 Recyclables going y 1 Oak Park Heights, MN 55082 Phone: 651- 439 -4439 City Collected Recvclables now 2oin2 to EUREKA Recycling Fax: 651 - 439 -0574 - - - Police non - emergency: 651- 439 -4723 Commencing January i, 2oo9 the City's recycling hauler V EOLIA will be Police Emergency: 911 taking all collected recyclables to Eureka Recycling. This shift will allow Office Hours: residents to now recycle additional items such as juice /milk cartons and Monday through Friday boxes, soda /beer boxes as well as clothes and linens. By this shift, it is 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. excluding legal holidays hoped that the City will increase its recycling tonnage by five percent with these additional materials now being eligible for recycling. MAYOR The City anticipates that there shall be no alteration in services provided David Beaudet by VEOLIA, collection shall remain on Thursdays and recyclable prepa- COUNCILMEMBERS ration shall remain the same. Again, in addition to what you currently Les Abrahamson Mary McComber recycle, you may now recycle the following items: Mike Runk Mark Swenson • juice /milk cartons and boxes CITY ADMINISTRATOR Eric Johnson • soda /beer boxes • clothes and linens Visit our _ _ Besides being good for the environment, the City does receive fifty per cent of the current commodity value of all collected recyclables which is then applied to off -set all waste collection services, which is otherwise funded by property taxes so,... more recycling reduces the burden on the The Oak Park Heights general property tax. Pitch -in! It will save you $$$! newsletter is published by the City of Oak Park Heights. Comments are welcome. 659 - 439 -4439 8cc 'ON ltuuad NIN `JOW- Uii?1S QIVd aOeIsod .S.fl L00Z: NISI `sltO13H lJvd VO P.tepueJS L00Z: sog `N Pklg lJv-d VO 89ItI paytosou'l Sl is H 3 1"d 3 1 P O J O A413