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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. 651-792-7800 www.cityofardenhills.org Sheriff and Fire 911 Water and Sewer Problems (During non-business hours) 651-767-0640 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 Jonathan Wicklund 651-278-8077 jwicklund@cityofardenhills.org Acting City Administrator: Sue Iverson 651-792-7816 siverson@cityofardenhills.org Communications Committee Editors/writers: Susan Cathey, Tina Kulzer Writer: Emma Theis Council Liaison: Jonathan Wicklund 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 as well. Visit www.cityofardenhills.org for information about taped meeting playbacks. Arden Hills Notes is the official news- letter of the City of Arden Hills, an equal-opportunity employer. 2 For the first time in decades, the City of Arden Hills is making plans for new park space. The Master Plan for the Rice Creek Commons development includes plans for four City parks. To meet the recreation needs of the projected 3,000 additional residents that will call the new de- velopment home, approxi- mately 25 acres of the 427-acre site is desig- nated as park and public open space. Per the Comprehensive Plan Amendment pertain- ing to the Rice Creek Commons site: “Four City parks will be located within or adjacent to residential neighborhoods. Amenities will be planned for each park based on the population served and to complement existing amenities in the developed portion of the City. The timing of park development will be aligned to the development of adjacent neighborhoods. In order to provide flexibility, the exact boundary and location of each park included on the TCAAP property may move within its given district. However, each park will be required to include the identified amenities within the City’s TCAAP Master Parks and Open Space Plan.” Under discussion: amenities Development plans for the park space are currently being discussed and refined by the Parks, Trails and Recreation Committee (PTRC), City Council, and others involved in development of the site. Basic amenities such as playgrounds/play structures, picnic shelters, half-court basketball, multi-use open space, parking, bike racks, bathrooms, and water fountains are being proposed for all parks in the development. Larger, activity-specific amenities such as tennis courts with pickleball lines, skating rinks and warming houses, full-size soccer fields and basketball courts, and a splash pad are op- tions that are being considered for inclusion in selected parks within the development. Trails will connect Trail development and connectivity also figure largely into the park and open space plans for Rice Creek Commons. Trails will be constructed along the Spine Road and along the collector road adjacent to the Town Center District and the natural resources corridor. Additional trails linking neighborhoods with each other and recreational areas will be constructed as development occurs. Ramsey County is acquiring additional land for a north-south regional trail on the eastern boundary of the site. This trail will connect Highway 96 with the Rice Creek Regional Trail. Ramsey County is also acquiring land for a wildlife corridor directly north of the site and a future trailhead off of County Road I. City Park profiles: series conclusion continued on page 3 by Tina Kulzer