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3 April 24, 2017 The following were all approved by a 5-0 vote: • Appointed David Williams as a new Public Works Maintenance Worker employee. • Appointed Brendan O’Meara to the Economic Development Commission for a term expiring Dec 2019. • Approved purchase of a Brush Bandit brush chipper by the Public Works Department for $36,909 to replace a 1996 Vermeer brush chipper. • Approved purchase and installation of playground equipment for Perry and Hazelnut Parks for $139,128. Benchmarks--a review of City Council action • Approved Planning Case 16-032 Ordinance 2016-013 to amend City Code Chapter 7, Section 700.06 which establishes a Slow-No Wake Speed Restriction on Lake Johanna during specified high water periods. • Approved Planning Case 17-007 for a front yard setback variance at 3517 Siems Court. • Approved Planning Case 17-008 for Lexington Station Phase 2 by Roberts Management Group. It was not that long ago that TCAAP was known for its environmental challenges as a brownfield, the largest Superfund site in Minnesota. Yet much has changed today as the site is poised to come back to life. Recently, the project received the 2017 award from the Environmental Initiative in the natural resources category. Environ- mental Initiative is a nonprofit organization that builds partnerships to develop collab- orative solutions to Minnesota’s environ- mental problems. The award itself rec- ognizes “innovative projects that achieve extraordinary environmental results by harnessing the power of partnership.” To understand the award, it is important to review how much has already happened since Ramsey County bought the site in 2013. The abandoned buildings are gone, along with more than 400,000 tons of concrete and asphalt. Nearly 10,000 tons of PCB hazardous waste, more than 7,000 tons of asbestos-containing soil waste and nearly 100,000 tons of non-hazardous impacted soil were removed. The team that completed this work included Ramsey County, the City of Arden Hills, Alatus LLC, Inland Develop- ment Partners and Tradition, Development Corporation, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Rice Creek Watershed District, Carl Bolander & Sons, Wenck Associates, Inc., and Bay West LLC. The Environmental Initiative award highlights a key element in the project. “Collaboration and cooperation among the public and private sectors is critical to the success of brownfield redevelopment. The scope of the partnerships between local, county, state, and federal elected officials and government agencies working in tandem with private sector firms to develop land of this scale in a major metropolitan region is very rare, if not unprecedented,” according to the Environmental Initiative’s award materials. TCAAP project honored Arden Hills welcomed new Public Works mainte- nance employee Dave Williams in May. Dave began his career in Oakdale and has 22 years of Public Works experience between that community and the city of Scandia. He has already noticed a difference that he appreciates in his Arden Hills job, the opportunity to perform all the functions of a City employee in more than one isolated department. He finds the job anything but routine as each day brings something a bit different to work on. Dave finds his new work environment is a good one, partly because the size of the crew contributes to a pleasing camaraderie. Dave and his wife Donna, a teacher, have lived in Stillwater for 25 years. They have sons living in Florida and St. Paul. Their youngest son is a junior at Stillwater High School. Dave likes to ride his motorcycle. The family also enjoys every opportunity for boating and swimming. Spending time together, including their two dogs, is what he likes best. Dave Williams joins City staff Drizzly conditions didn’t dampen enthusiasm at the start of the Scoops for Troops 5K race held April 30 at the Arden Hills Army Training Site. This annual event raises scholarship money for the Fallen Heroes Fund. Photo by Steve Scott.