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Postal Customer ECR-WSS PRST STD U.S. Postage Paid St. Paul, MN Permit #1962 I n s i d e Arden Hills, MN . 55112-5734 Election preview Hazelnut Park Street maintenance overview Buying in bulk Fall is upon us! It seems like just yesterday it was New Year’s, and we were looking forward to a busy 2014 here in Arden Hills. So far this year, we have seen the completion of the Highway 10/County Road 96 reconstruc- tion, concrete work on County Road 96, and the repaving of Hamline Avenue. At times I wondered if anyone in the northern part of the City would be able to drive anywhere! The County and its contractor have progressed on cleanup of the excess TCAAP property. Going hand-in-hand with the cleanup, the City has approved an Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR) for the TCAAP redevelopment and started to tackle the issues of creating zoning districts and standards for the soon to be redeveloped land. With less than three months left in 2014, I want to touch up three items: upcoming road and bridge construction, the TCAAP Master Plan, and elections on November 4. Arden Hills has endured its fair share of regional transportation construction the last several years. Unfortunately, major construction projects are planned for another two years. Two items account for all this reconstruction. First, we need to improve our infrastructure to facilitate and accommodate the TCAAP redevelopment. Second, it is time to replace infrastructure completed 30 and 40 years ago that has outlived its life expectancy. In 2015 we will see reconstruc- tion of the County Road 96 bridge over I-35W, improvements to the intersection of County Road F and Lexington Avenue, reconstruction of the County Road E bridge over Highway 51, reconstruction of County Road E from the County Road E/Highway 51 bridge to Lexington Avenue, and reconstruction of the Lake Valentine Road bridge over I-35W heading into New Brighton. If that isn’t enough, in 2016 the County Road H bridge over I-35W (which will be the gate- way into the TCAAP development) will be reconstructed, as will the County Road E2 bridge over I-35W. I am not looking forward to all of this inconvenience, but it is needed to replace aging roadways and expand the infrastructure to allow the regional development that is occurring — not just in Arden Hills — but also in New Brighton, Shoreview, Mounds View, and Blaine. TCAAP planning is rocketing ahead so that the City and Ramsey County are prepared, once the cur- rent cleanup of the land is com- pleted (most probably in the second half of 2015), to sell the land to developers for residential and commercial construction. By the end of the year, the City Council, City staff, and our planning consultants are working to develop a TCAAP Rede- velopment Code that will help us imple- ment the vision for redevelopment and provide the regulatory tools to guide the redevelopment consistent with the TCAAP Master Plan, which is our vision for the site. The City Council has doubled our monthly meetings in order to review the work being done on the Master Plan and the Redevelopment Code. I have heard that many residents are apprehensive of the unknowns of the TCAAP redevelopment and the additional traffic that development will bring. But I have also heard from residents who are excited that the development is getting closer to actually happening. In fact, one resident keeps asking me when construc- tion will start on her new condo so she can start packing. The only constant in life is change. When I think back 25 years and what Arden Hills was then, I can’t say that I would have envisioned what we are now. I am proud of the City we have become and I am excited for the changes that are coming soon. I envision a high-quality, livable, walkable community that encom- passes elements of the current Arden Hills and adds elements that will help us remain vibrant and a community where people want to work and live. As TCAAP devel- ops, I hope we can all feel that the new residents, businesses, parks, trails, and open spaces add to the special place that is Arden Hills. The new development is not going to look exactly like the Arden Hills we are used to, and I hope we see that as an opportunity and not a threat. The last item I want to mention is remember to vote on Tuesday, November 4. This year we have important races including Mayoral and two City Council seats. Please see the candidate statements from the candidates running for City offices in this issue. Warmest regards, Dave McClung Notes from the City Council