HomeMy WebLinkAboutMarch 2001 J
The Official City Newsletter for Arden Hills Residents March 2001
Arden Hills web site now up and running (http://www.ci.arden-hills.mn.us)
The City of Arden Hills now has its The CITY DEPARTMENTS screen
own web site! Development of this starts out with a complete roster of the Arden Hills unveils new IOgO
was(and is)not an explicit responsibili- City's 21 employees in five depart-
ty of any of our limited staff,but thanks ments.From there you can go to each
primarily to the capability of city plan- department's"home page"(for
ner Jennifer Chaput,has been accom- Administration,Building&Planning,
plished anyway. Finance,Parks&Recreation,and
The web site is available 24 hours a Public Works),and from there to the
day,seven days a week at — detail you may be looking for.For rden Hills has a new logo to help usher in
http://www.ciarden-hillsinn.us.Any example,under Building&Planning Athe City's 50th Anniversary Celebration.
information not found on the web site may be found any part of the entire The logo features a mature oak tree sitting on
can be obtained by calling or dropping Zoning Ordinance,or copies of the a rolling hill with the hint of a stream or trail
by the City Hall. many helpful handouts on the require- below symbolizing Arden Hills as a pleasant,
The main Home Page(what you ments for various building additions or stable community that values its natural set-
first see)has links to four major infor- alterations(also available as hard ting.These symbols are also reflected in the
mative topics(Information,City copies at City Hall).Finally,applica- lettering with the upward swirl of the A rep-
Council,City Committees,and City tion blanks for various permits can be resenting the hills and the downward swirl of
Departments,respectively)plus one that selected and printed out at your home the R representing the lakes.
encourages telephone,personal,or e- or office prior to completing and filing The logo was developed by the volunteer
mail contact with City Hall staff.Each them at the City Hall. efforts of Derrek Haines in collaboration
main topic has its own"home page" Comments on the new website, with the City Council and staff.Derrek,a
with links to appropriate subtopics. whether commendatory,constructive or graphic artist and lifelong resident of Arden
From the INFORMATION screen, critical,are welcomed by the staff, Hills,was excited about the opportunity to
after viewing some information about the especially Jennifer Chaput.Over time, develop the new logo;it was always one of
location and characteristics of Arden more information and more topics will his lifelong goals to help the City create an
Hills,you can go to Frequently Asked be added,and attention paid to keeping identity that reflects the community of indi-
Questions(FAQs),or History,or 50th each one up to date. viduals who make up Arden Hills.
Celebration,or New City Hall for details. While controlled from the location The City will keep the original colors—a
From the CITY COUNCIL screen of the information appearing in it,a light beige background with forest green
(which lists the Council meeting sched- website is actually located electronical- imprint.These popular colors have clearly
ule,names and terms of Council- ly on a special computer called a serv- been associated with Arden Hills for many
members,and TV meeting broadcast er,which can be located wherever the years and therefore provide continuity,espe-
times)you can go to Agenda(listing necessary hardware and software are cially while the new logo is being phased in.
the detailed agenda of the next meeting) available.To keep costs down,our The beige and green colors complement the
or to Minutes(text of the most recently website,along with those of new logo and give it a contemporary,yet ele-
adopted Council meeting minutes). Lauderdale,Mounds View,Roseville, gant,look which the City Council hopes will
From the CITY COMMITTEES and Little Canada(home page only at symbolize our City for many years to come.
The new logo has also been incorporated
screen,you can go to the Planning this time)all into the 50th Anniversary Seal,which is the
Commission,or Parks,Trails and share a server image the City will be using to identify this
Recreation Committee,or Operations located at the special event.Using the same colors and
&Finance Committee,or Communica- Roseville style of design as the logo,the Seal also
tions Committee.In each case,the City Hall. incorporates the logo's typography.The 50th
function,meeting schedule,and mem- w.4 Anniversary Seal will be used for all official
bership of the group are listed. city announcements and for promotional
- items such as banners and T-shirts.
City of AROUND
Arden Hills
the TOWN I llmry
Service
Directory
City Hall -.*- Golden Celebration —
651-634-5120
(http://www.ei.arden-
hills.mn.us) ith the City's"Golden Celebration Year"kicked off by a Kids Ice Fishing Contest on
Fire(non-emergency) February 11 and an official Salutation and 50th Anniversary Proclamation event on
651-633-2404 February 12,attention will next be focused on the major event in Tony Schmidt Park on June 23.
Parks&Recreation
651-634-5120 Proclamation Day,February 12
The Salutation and Proclamation by the Mayor and Council took place at the Holiday Inn in
651-484 4-3366-3366
Police(non-emergency) Arden Hills on the Monday evening,February 12.Attendees in addition to the mayor and City
Council included members of the City staff,commissions,committees and task forces,several
Police&Fire Emergency former mayors,Councilmembers,local legislators and pioneers.
911 Mayor Dennis Probst introduced Councilmembers and officially received the deed to the
Arden Hills City Hall TCAAP property from the Department of Army on Highway 96 on which the new City Hall is
4364 West Round Lake Rd. now under construction.The City's own proclamation was unveiled and read,commemorating
Arden Hills,MN 55112 the actual incorporation of Arden Hills(then as a village)on February 14, 1951.
Senator Mady Reiter read a special resolution of the Minnesota Senate.The roles of
Regular office hours Councilmember Beverly Aplikowski and Events Task Force Cochairs Dan Ashbach and
8 am.to 4:30 pm.,M-F LoAnn Crepeau in bringing about the anniversary celebration were commended.Former may-
ors and others were introduced.Exhibits covering both the pre- and post-incorporation of
City Council:Mayor Dennis
Probst.Councilmembers: Arden Hills had been prepared and were available for viewing.
Beverly Aplikowski,David
Grant,Gregg Larson,Lois Rem Golden Celebration and 6th Annual"Day in the Park",June 23
On Saturday,June 23,interesting and fun events will run from late morning until dusk in
City Administrator: Joe Lynch Tony Schmidt Park on Lake Johanna.A tentative schedule of events follows,with final details
Council meetings are held at to be published in a later issue of Arden Hills Notes,in the St.Paul Pioneer Press,and in free
City Hall,4364 West Round handouts that will be available before and on June 23:
Lake Road,the second and
last Monday of the month Street parade — 11:00 a. m. - 1:00 p. m.
at 7:30 p.m.The public is Arts and Crafts Show — 11:00 a. m. - 8:30 p.m.
welcome.Please call the City
Administrator(651-634-5120) Tony Schmidt Park Grand Opening Ceremony — 1:10 - 1:30 p. m.
if you have topics for the
agenda. The meetings are "Day in the Park",featuring mostly free activities,including the following:
televised,tape delayed,on
Cable Channel 16 on the
following Wednesday at Face Painting ... Caricatures ... "The Big Fun Show" including Magic,
11 a.m.and 7 p.m. Juggling, Comedy, and Family Fun .... Clown/Ballooning ...Petting Zoo with
Pony Rides (small fee for rides) ...Inflatable Children's Games ...
Arden Hills Communications
Committee:Chairperson Sue Miniature Golf Course ...Splatter Sisters Music ...Mad Science of Minnesota
Schroeder(651-636-8954), Show and Mad Science of Minnesota Interactive Booths ...Jazz Band ...
Elwood Caldwell,Fran Concessions in the afternoon
Holmes,Mary Nosek.Council
Liaison:Lois Rem.Staff:Joe
Lynch,Sheila Stowell. Also, Seniors'Afternoon Tea in the Tent(at Presbyterian Homes) ...
Desktop Publisher:Sharon Swimming beach open 1:30-6:30 ... Boat Parade 8:30-9:30 ...
Hanzalik. Music (various groups) until dusk...and at dusk,FIREWORKS!
Arden Hills Notes is the official
newsletter of the city of Arden
Hills,an equal opportunity
employer. remember!
4 " 1
Benchmarks A review of recent Council actions
January 29 Council Meeting ■ Approved Pay Estimate#2 for water February 12 Special
main improvements on Old Highway Council Meeting
• Received an update from Ramsey 10 and for improvements at Arden
County on projects for County Road I Manor Park. ■ Accepted the Quit Claim Deed to the
and Highways 96/10 interchange. new City Hall site from the Department
■ Approved Change Order#2 and Pay of Army.
• Approved a sign variance for Metro Request#4 for City Hall construction.
Community Credit Union. ■ Initiated a series of year-long activities
supporting the city's 50th(golden)
• Approved a preliminary plat/concept February 5 Council Meeting anniversary.
planned unit development by
Chesapeake for site at I-35W and 1-694. ■ Discussed possible sales tax exemption
for City Hall construction and other Full minutes are available at the
• Approved an amendment to issues with State Senator Mady Reiter. Arden Hills Library,City Hall,and
Neighborhood Business District soon to be on line.
language in Ordinance#324. ■ Approved Pay Request#1 for 2001
sanitary sewer rehab work.
• Approved an application for one-day
off-site gambling by the Lions Club. ■ Approved a Proclamation concerning
the city's 50th anniversary.
RESIDENTS RESPOND TO READERSHIP SURVEY
Last fall, the Communications newsletter and distributed to every house- adequate information about specific
Committee at City Hall conducted a hold in the community.About 310 residents issues like city council action,roadway
readership survey to determine whether returned their surveys,representing a development,city services,finances and
Arden Hills Notes was an effective way response rate of roughly 10 percent. city elections.
for the City of Arden Hills to communicate The survey asked questions about In addition,the survey included a few
with residents. readers'overall impressions of the questions about other city communication
The survey was inserted into the newsletter's accuracy and readability.It tools,specifically its cable television station
September edition of the ------- also asked residents whether or not they and its web site(which at that time was
g--'" ° felt the publication provided them with still in the planning stage.)
w�+ryr
® What the study revealed
Overall,the survey — = bution dates have varied from month to The City Council has reviewed the study,
showed that residents month. and the Communications Committee is
view Arden Hills Notes as a 0' Second,readers want newsletter currently considering ways to incorporate
good way for the city to communicate. stories that offer more detail and discuss recommendations into future editions of
About 98 percent of respondents said that topics as they emerge rather than after Arden Hills Notes.
they read at least part of the newsletter decisions have been made.This is particu- We want to take this opportunity to
each month,and 96 percent agreed that it larly true when it comes to issues facing thank everyone who responded to the sur-
was an effective communication tool. the City Council. vey.Communication between the city and
However,survey results also suggest- c' Finally,readers would like to see its residents is important in helping main-
ed some improvements that could make it tain the exceptional quality of life we all
even better.Those improvements fall into more topics displayed graphically. enjoy in Arden Hills,and we appreciate
Especially,when issues like roadway
three broad categories. your help in our efforts to keep communi-
O' First,readers want the newsletter to development and reconstruction are being cation flowing.
discussed,readers want to see maps,dia-
be delivered to them consistently,at the grams and charts in addition to text
same time each month.In the past,distri- descriptions.
r
M .R� O P 0 L S A N
E
Several months ago,Arden Hills Notes included a sto ry profiling the Metropolitan
Council. The metropolitan Council is a quasi-governmental agency created by the
minnesota Legislature in 1967 to establish policies and plan in the Twin Cities region IC O
for airports,regional parks,highways, transit,sewers,air and water quality, land use
and affordable housing.
The mission of the Metropolitan Council is "to improve regional competitiveness in
the global economy so this is one of the best places to live,work,raise a family,and grow
a business."
In this issue we take a look at how the work of the Metropolitan Council relates to the activities of city government and
particularly to the City of Arden Hills.
—"hj.
According to Arden Hills City areas that have an impact on multiple position that it is not possible to provide
Administrator Joe Lynch,the impact municipalities,including issues like trans- as much detailed information as the
of the Metropolitan Council on cities is portation,sewers and other utilities,storm Metropolitan Council would like to see.
most apparent in the cities' comprehensive water management,and proposed regional Lynch pointed out that there are
planning efforts. trail systems. advantages to cities to complete compre-
As a result of legislative action,cities Arden Hills has submitted its compre- hensive plan amendments and to comply
are required to submit amended hensive plan,and it is currently under with Metropolitan Council review proce-
Comprehensive Plans to the Metropolitan review by the Metropolitan Council. dures.For instance,cities that have com-
Council. It's interesting to note,Lynch said,that pleted the process will probably be more
A city's comprehensive plan details its one area for which the Metropolitan competitive in securing grant monies for
planning strategies in areas like trans- Council would like to see additional plan- affordable housing,sewer upgrading and
portation,utilities,parks and recreation, ning information from the city concerns similar projects.
trails,open spaces and housing. future development at the Twin Cities Lynch was also appreciative of the fact
The Metropolitan Council reviews city Arsenal site(also called TCAAP,the that Metropolitan Council member Roger
comprehensive plans with a focus on how Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant). Williams lives in Arden Hills and pointed
well the city's plan integrates with Met However,due to the uncertainties sur- to Williams' understanding of local issues
Council planning initiatives especially in rounding that site,the city has taken the as a real plus for this community.
ryg CITY OF ARDEN HILLS ECR - WSS
4364 WEST ROUND LAKE ROAD
ARDEN HILLS, MN 55112-5794 PRST STD
U.S.Postage Paid
St.Paul,MN
Permit#1962
n •Arden Hills web site
•Arden Hills new logo POSTAL CUSTOMER
• Golden Celebration begins
•Recent Council actions
•Readership survey results
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