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Arden Hills Service Directory 1245 West Highway 96 Arden Hills, MN 55112-5734 Office Hours Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m.--4:30 p.m. Friday 7:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. 651-792-7800 www.cityofardenhills.org Sheriff and Fire Emergency 911 Sheriff (non-emergency) 651-767-0640 Fire (non-emergency) 651-481-7024 Water and Sewer Problems (During non-business hours) 651-767-0649 Mayor: David Grant 651-538-0747 dgrant@cityofardenhills.org Councilmembers: Brenda Holden 651-636-2987 bholden@cityofardenhills.org Fran Holmes 651-631-1866 fholmes@cityofardenhills.org Dave McClung 651-332-0352 davemcclung@comcast.net Ed Werner 651-636-2547 ewerner@cityofardenhills.org City Administrator: Patrick Klaers 651-792-7810 pklaers@cityofardenhills.org Communications Committee Kristine Goodrich, editor; Susan Cathey, Tina Kulzer Council Liaison: David Grant Staff Liaison: Amy Dietl Desktop Publisher: Mary Nosek Council meetings are held at City Hall on the second and last Monday of the month at 7 p.m. Meetings are televised live on Cable Channel 16. Meetings of the Planning Commission are televised live at 7 p.m. on the first Wednesday of the month. Visit www.cityofardenhills. org for information about taped meet- ing playbacks. Arden Hills Notes is the official news- letter of the City of Arden Hills, an equal-opportunity employer. 2 City Park Profiles--a series Hazelnut Park, 3301 New Brighton Road continued on page 3 “The Hazelnut Patch” was the name of a popular play area in the Lake Johanna West neighborhood of Arden Hills. Here, in this wide open parcel of land west of New Brighton Road on the south end of the City, generations of neighborhood children explored acres of sparse vegetation and roamed undeveloped, sloping landscape. Residents young and old walked and hiked through the open area in every season, as it was adjacent to the City’s growing trail system. In 1975, C. G. Rein Company dedicated 10.32 acres of land owned within “The Hazel- nut Patch” to the City and also made available for purchase an additional 1.34 acres. At the suggestion of the City’s Parks and Recreation Committee, the new 11.66-acre park was named Hazelnut Park—a nod to the unofficial name adopted by neighbors for the open space they had so long enjoyed. Early development efforts The development of Hazelnut Park was driven by the intention “to provide a variety of recreational activity…to develop and ex- tend the pedestrian trail system, maintaining and enhancing existing natural areas while providing high intensive activity and passive recreation.” Development efforts following acquisition focused primarily on extensive tree planting and park clean-up – much of which was done by neighborhood volunteers and civic groups. By 1980, there was grading and seeding of ball fields and walking paths, and installation of a backstop and infield materials, and the park’s first play structure. In 1982, the hockey rink, general skating rink, and lights for these facilities were installed. A critical partnership In 1986, the park’s picnic shelter was purchased with grant money from Aid Association for Lutherans and installed by volunteers from the Trinity Lutheran Church (now Trinity Lutheran of Lake Johanna) Men’s Club, which borders Hazelnut Park to the south and west. The City subsequently entered into a joint powers agreement with Trinity Lutheran Church, which made the church parking lot available for use to visitors of Hazelnut Park. This unique and critical partnership brings a scarce amenity (parking) to Hazelnut Park, which positions it as a recreational area that can truly serve City residents in the diverse ways in which it was intended. Maintenance and improvements The City has an approved maintenance policy that places the City parks in levels of maintenance. Hazelnut Park is classified as a Level One park (Perry Park and Cummings Park are the other two) because it is regularly used for organized sports and takes on frequent and intense levels of use throughout the year. As a result, Hazelnut Park has seen much-needed improvements over the last 20 years. Some major projects include: a new play structure and play equipment, paving and im- proved access to bike trails, tennis and basketball court resurfacing, and irrigation by Tina Kulzer