HomeMy WebLinkAboutSeptember 1978r
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Published by the Arden Association
No. 120
September 19.78
"The difference is slight, to the influence of
an author, whether he is read by five hundred
readers, or by five hundred thousand; if he
can select the five hundred, he reaches the
five hundred thousand "
9
--Henry Brooks Adams, 1838-1918
The Town Crier does not have a circulation of
five hundred thousand (yet!), but our city is
growing nicely as is evidenced by the number
of these newsletters mailed each month. When
Jan Hollenhorst began this job in September,
1975, she sent out 1501 copies. When I took
over in March, 1977, we mailed 1799. And last
month it was 1910.
The exclusive and select list
who -receive the Crier is made up of
pays a sewer bill in Arden Hills or
of people
everyone who
who has asked
to be on our mailing list. We also try to mail
to as many businesses as we can, but some of the
offices keep changing (expecially in Arden Plaza)
not always correct. Feel free to read this,
The Twin Cities Christian Home was back last month at both the Planning..
'Commission and at the Council meetings with its seemingly annual request for
a Special Use Permit to build retirement apartments for the elderly on a parcel
of land that is zoned R-1 (single family dwellings). Although the Planning
'Commission recommended granting the Special Use Permit (6 for, 1 opposed, 2 ab-
staining), the Council voted to deny it 0 for denial, 2 for approval).
The land in question is 23 acres just east of Old Snelling between the Soo
Line tracks and County Road E. Many neighborhood residents spoke at each meet-
ing, and opinion on the project seemed to be nearly evenly divided. The main
objection to this proposal is that a project of this type will practically isolatf
the homes north of E from the rest of the world. Already they have Lindey's
on the west, McDonald's on the east, and County Road E out in front. Many of
these residents are hoping for a development of single-family homes behind them
to form a decent -sized neighborhood.
Another objection was that the aim of Arden Hills has been to be a "Village
' of Homes" rather than a "Village of Special Use Permits". The Planning Commis-
sion also considered the fact that if, for some unforeseen reason, TCCH went out
'of business, these apartments could easily be turned into college dormitories or
"swingin' singles" apartments.
On the "for" side of the question was the fact that housing of this type
is definitely needed in the Twin Cities. It would be a nice -looking project
with quiet residents who would generate little traffic and would probably not
add many children to our schools. After three hours of discussion at the PC,
our City Planner observed, "The amount of discussion is indicative of the mag-
nitude of the problem."
With the feelings of the Planning Commission in mind, the Council attacked
the problem a week latera Two petitions were presented to the Council, one for
the project and one against. To show just how evenly divided the opinions were,
it was discovered two households had signed both petitions! Anyway, the Council
has denied the request for the time being and the applicant has to wait at least
6 months before trying again. •
Editor's note: I want to say again how valuable Orlyn Miller, ®ur City
Planner, is in a situation like the TCCH. His presentations are always very
clear, with both pros and cons being pointed out. He seldom makes a direct ,
recommendation unless something is really bad, leaving the decisions up to
the Council.
I learned during the TCCH discussions that the new idea in non-resid entia
building is to erect onstall structure.on a park -like area (a la Mutual Service,
rather than several low, rambling buildings that try to appear invisible.
Orlyn also mentioned that the neighborhood surrounding Mutual Service does not
have the same problem as the neighborhood next to the proposed TCCH site be-
cause the number of homes by Mutual Service is large enough that a real neigh-
borhood has already been formed. j
September 12 is the date of the primary election, and Clerk -Administrator
Charlotte McNeish wants to thank everyone for the number of calls she received i
from people volunteering to serve as election judges. While talking to Char-
lotte, I discovered that you cannot pre -register to vote between August 22 and
September 11 because of the time lag in doing the paper work. You can, of
course register on election day at your precinct polling place.
PRECINCT MAP OF Arden Hills has been re -divided into five precincts
ARDEN HILLS now, with the polling places and precincts as
follows:
Precinct 1 votes at: The Odd Fellows Lodge
1174 Edgewater Ave.
Precinct 2 votes ats The Presbyterian Homes
3220 Lake Johanna Blvd,
Precinct 3 votes at: Valentine Hills School
1770 W. County Road E-2
Precinct 4 votes ats Arden Hills City Hall
1450 W. Highway 96
Precinct 5 votes ats Arden Manor Community Center
4605 Prior Ave.
And another reminder on our local elections
coming up in Novembers Mayor Crepeau's and Council-
men Woodburn's and Crichton's terms of office ex-
pire this year. So if you are a registered voter
and want to run for any of these positions, you can
file at the Village Hall between September 26 and
October 10. The filing fee is only $2.00. '
Our City Engineer has advised the Council that there is a check
device that can be purchased at plumbing stores which, when screwed
or basement traps, can be effective in controlling sewage backups.
a back-up problem, check this out with a plumbing supply place,
valve
into laundri
If you have
A Note of Explanation to those of you who also receive The New Brighton
Bulletins The Town Crier tries not to duplicate articles found in the Bulletin,
but sometimes the Bulletin's straight, factual reporting leaves out some of the
nuances of certain meetings that the Crier tries to capture. Occasionally
therefore, some of the same news is repeated.
Also, one lady who phoned me on a different subject, mentioned that many
people in Arden Hills do not subscribe to The New Brighton Bulletin and the
Town Crier is thus their main link to community happenings. So bear with me
if you've read all this news somewhere else.
The Public Hearing to be held by the Rice Creek Watershed on the proposed
new water controls for their District has been changed from Mounds View High
School to Irondale because of the bridge construction by MV. It's on Sept. 6
at 7s30 p.m.
Several of the Rice Creek people came to the August 14 Council meeting to
explain briefly what the new pumps and dredgings will mean to Arden Hills (be-
sides helping to pay for it, that is). Rice Creek has obtained a Federal Grant
from the Environmental Protection Agency to improve the water quality in Rice
Creek's 200+ sq, mile area. It must be clearly understood that this grant is
for water QUALITY only. However, in order to control quality, the waterguan-
tity must also be managed, and this is where Arden Hills becomes very interested
particularly after this year's rains. Of the $2.6 million project, $600,000
will be spent in AH. The direct cost to us should be around $57,000.
The system planned by Rice Creek is to take advantage of the natural fil-
tering of the waters, which is provided/by marshes and ponds. A by-product of
giving the water enough storage time i these swamps is that the level of the
lakes involved, particularly Johanna a d Josephine, will be monitored and con-
trolled. One of our Council's concer s is that this appears to be a semi -pilot
project. Because each Watershed Dist ict necessarily has a different set of
lakes, you can't ever copy exactly. RCWD has studied the Minnehaha Creek
District however, and is hopeful that this project will solve many problems.
The purpose of the Public Hearing on the 6th is to get input from local
residents about any particular problems. Those who live by the lakes and marshes
often know more of the day-to-day water flow than do the researchers.
Two other important Public Hearings are coming up at the Village Hall,
one on September 7 and one on September 25. At these times any suggestions on
how AH should spend our Federal Revenue Sharing Funds will be considered.
POTPOURRI: Public Works is going to buy a 1 -ton truck to replace the one that
'is worn out, and a 3/4 ton 4 x 4 (whatever that is) with plow ...... Here are
some figures on what the Parks Dept. will spend this year on various improve-
ments: ball practice board for Sampson Park, $650; trees along the highway
ramp for Freeway Park, $500; grading of field and jogging path for Ingerson
Park, $1250; top -dressing of fields in Perry Park, $1650; wooden climbing struc-
ture and sandbox in Floral Park, $2550; bike trails development, $5800; picnic
' tables $600; and trees, $1500......
Omission last months The Townhouse Association that sponsored the Blood
Drive in July wanted to thank specially the merchants who supplied snacks to
the recovering donors. These stores are the K -Mart (Blaine), Arden Hills Penny'a
1 Market, Zeck's and Dunham Super Value......
The owner of the Arden Manor Mobile Home Park was granted an extension
until September 30 to complete work in the Park......The Council approved a
temporary extension of the number of hours worked by our Community Service Of-
ficer (dog catcher) to see if that will help reduce dog compla.ints...... North-
western National Bank is now looking at an opening date of August 30 or so,
'hopefully by the time you receive this newsletter. However, the Grand Opening
will be the week of September 30 with prizes and refreshments. Watch for more
advertising from the Bank itself on this......
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Received a letter from one resident who loves living in Arden Hills, BUT..
the dogs running loose, noisy cars, and unfinished building projects are begin- ,
ning to nag. (I must agree on that last one. Will they never finish those two
houses at the end of my street???? And Chathamt)......Another letter -writer
wanted to know if there are any groups around that will collect "reuseables" '
such as egg cartons, margarine tubs, ice cream buckets, etc. Anybody know?
SEPTEMBER CALENDAR
Because of Labor Day, some of these meetings have been scrambled about. Check
with the Village Hall (633-5676) if you have any questions.
Sept. 4
5
6
7
11
12
Holiday
Parks & Rec. (tenative)
Planning Commission
Rice Creek Public Hearing
7$30 p.m. Irondale High
Special Finance Committee
Revenue Sharing Hearing
Regular Council
Sept. 12
13
14
20
25
26
Newsletter Committee - Steak Inn 27
6:30 A.M. (see you all)
J
Primary Elections VOTE1
Rice Creek Watershed District
Joint meeting of Mayor and
Committee Heads
Public Works (tenative)
Council - Revenue Sharing
First day to file for City
elections - $2.00 filing fee
Rice Creek Watershed
The Arden Association is a non-profit organization existing for the purpose
of informing Arden Hills' residents of Village activities and business. The
Town Crier expresses opinions of the editor on these matters and attempts to
make its contents informative and interesting. Readers' comments on anything is
encouraged. Deadline for the next issues September 15,
Secretary -Editors Diane McAllister, 1200 Ingerson Road, 55112. 484-0773 '
Village Halls 1450 W. Highway 969 633-5676