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HomeMy WebLinkAboutApril 2017The Official City Newsletter for Arden Hills Residents April 2017 Arden Hills has a fun new place to go for meals and happy hour. In Febru- ary, Nutmeg Brewhouse opened its second location at 3673 Lexington Avenue. Co- owner MP Singh describes Nutmeg as “a fast casual restaurant with its own micro- brewery serving globally flavored food paired with craft beer.” The first Nutmeg Brewhouse is in Burns- ville, and it is there the brewing takes place. Fresh beer is then brought in kegs to Arden Hills. Singh sees our City as a strong market and believes, with the Rice Creek Commons development in the plans, it will be “the next big thing.” Nutmeg’s story began with a group of friends who had a passion for IPAs (India Pale Ales), created when the British Em- pire stretched around the globe. The beer used to go bad on the long sea voyages from England, so a generous amount of hops was added to extend its life. Nut- meg’s creators wanted to pair foods which were enjoyed with IPAs around the world. The name is rooted in the same history – the spice trade! Some of the most popular items on the menu at Nut- meg are the Kimchi Reuben, Dan’s Brewhouse Burger and their Atlantic Cod and Chips. Singh’s personal favorite is the Meatball Bahn Mi. For the full menu, check out the website at www.nutmegbrewhouse.com. Nutmeg Brewhouse is available for host- ing parties and also has some fun events planned, such as character themed par- ties (think Harry Potter) and Beer Cask Release parties. They host beer tastings, live music, and held an NCAA Tourna- ment for March Madness. Their Facebook page “Nutmeg Brewhouse Arden Hills” is updated with all events. Nutmeg Brewhouse opens Sue Polka is new Public Works Director/City EngineerSue Polka has been hired as the Arden Hills Public Works Director/ City Engineer. She was appointed to the position at the February 13 City Council meeting. Sue is officially an employee of WSB, a St. Paul firm which provides engineering, planning, environmental, and construction services, but the City has contracted with her for three years in this position. Polka brings a solid background to her new job. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering and 30 years of experience working in the public sector as a Licensed Professional Engineer. She was Director of Engineering for a Houston, Texas suburb, City Engineer for Prior Lake, and held the combined posi- tion like that in Arden Hills for Mendota Heights. As a new employee, Sue has been enjoy- ing getting to know the Arden Hills staff who say she is a wonderful person to work with. She is busy becoming involved in all aspects of Public Works. Although she has worked with communities ranging in size from 50,000 to 120,000, she is happy to now be in a “smaller” city where there is greater interaction with the community. Sue has two adult children living in Arizona and loves visiting them and her granddaughters. Other hobbies are read- ing and hiking, as well as spending time with her rescue Chihuahua, Chloe. Pictured here at Nutmeg’s ribbon cutting are (left to right) JT Dalton, head brewer; Steve Scott, City Coun- cil; Fran Holmes, City Council; MP Singh, Nutmeg owner; David Grant, mayor; Evan Mowry, Nutmeg chef, Arden Hills; Brenda Holden, City Council; Harnek Singh, chef Burnsville Nutmeg Arden Hills Service Directory 1245 West Highway 96 Arden Hills, MN 55112-5734 www.cityofardenhills.org 651-792-7800 Office Hours Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 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 Steve Scott 651-604-0919 sscott@cityofardenhills.org City Administrator: Bill Joynes 651-792-7810 wjoynes@cityofardenhills.org Communications Committee Editor/writer/photographer: Susan Cathey, Council Liaison: Steve Scott Staff Liaison: Julie Hanson Desktop Publisher: Mary Nosek Council meetings are held at City Hall on the second and fourth Mondays 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.cityo- fardenhills.org for information about archived meeting playbacks. Arden Hills Notes is the official news- letter of the City of Arden Hills, an equal-opportunity employer. 2 3 Tree services must be licensed in Arden Hills Pursuant to Chapter 3, Section 390 of the Arden Hills City Code, all persons engaging in a busi- ness that maintains, trims, removes, or treats trees or shrubs within the City must obtain a license from the City. This is to ensure the contractor carries adequate property damage insurance, general liability insur- ance and worker’s compensation. City tree service licenses must be applied for an- nually. In order to be licensed by the City of Arden Hills, a Tree Service License Application form must be completed and submitted with a certificate of insurance, listing the City as a certificate holder, and a yearly fee paid. Once a license is obtained, the City will maintain a current list of registered Tree Service Contractors that will be accessible to the public on the City’swebswite at www.cityofardenhills.org. Search keyword tree service or go to Home\Departments\ Public Works\Forestry\Tree Service License. Tree contractors licensed by the City must also obtain other permits by the City if their business activities include solicitation of customers, obstruction of City streets, or other regulated activities. For more information visit the City’s website at wwww.cityorardenhills.org and search keywords tree license or call the City Clerk at 651-792-7811. Why not make every day “Earth Day”? Earth Day may only come once a year, but you can live like every day is Earth Day by maximizing your recycling efforts, reducing what you acquire and reusing what you can. Twin Cities residents have a lot of options when it comes to recycling, and they take advantage of them! A recent research sur- vey showed that almost half of us toss all our items into the correct bin, with about 39 percent getting only one item wrong. The same survey showed that people are motivated to recycle by their concern for the environment, and that they feel recycling is important and easy. With Earth Day coming up on April 22, it’s a great time to look at what we can do to reduce, reuse, and recycle every day. Keep it easy Resources like the Know What to Throw Guide and Recycling 101 can help you make sure all of your items end up in the right place. Just because something can’t be recycled in your curbside bin doesn’t mean that you can’t recycle it. Items like batteries and plastic bags can be brought to drop-off locations to be recycled. Recycling is important because it is good for the three E’s: It benefits our economy, saves energy and protects our environment. Make sure you are recycling everything you can no matter where you are. The first R Take a look at the items in your recycling bin; are there any you could have avoided acquiring in the first place? It’s important to think about the first R—reduce—before reusing and recycling. Avoid packaging waste by buying in bulk, go electronic, and find ways to reduce waste at work. Use reusable products whenever you can and seek out new ways to reduce wherever you go. Reducing in the modern age In recent years, there has been a shift from ownership to access in what is known as the sharing economy. Instead of purchas- ing several DVDs, people stream their entertainment. Instead of driving their own vehicle, people are using rideshare services and public transit. Borrow and share to find ways to help reduce without limiting your access with these services. Another move- ment is the Zero Waste lifestyle that allows Officially, Earth Day falls on April 22. But you can make every day “Earth Day” people to use things like cloth bags, jars and bottles to end up producing a shock- ingly small amount of annual waste. Getting the most out of the three R’s By reducing what you purchase, reusing what you can and recycling the rest, you can help protect the environment. Use tips from RethinkRecyling.com, the U.S. EPA and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to get ideas on how to reduce the items that you acquire and look for ways to create less waste overall. Earth Day may only come once a year, but there are tons of ways to use the philosophy of Earth Day every day. Gaga Ball comes to Arden Hills park Watch for a fun new activity coming to Hazelnut Park this summer. It’s called Gaga Ball, and it’s a fast-paced, high energy game played in a fenced octagonal area called a pit. The game combines dodging, striking, running, and jumping, with the object of being the last person standing. Although new to Arden Hills, Gaga Ball has been around for decades. Its roots are in Israel, and it is believed to have been brought to the U.S. by counselors working at Jewish summer camps in the 1960s. In fact, ga-ga means touch-touch in Hebrew. In an era when our nation is facing an increasing problem of childhood obesity, many schools and camps are looking for fun activities that keep children of all ages and abilities moving. That is why Aaron Thelen, Recreation Programmer for the City, is very excited to be bringing Gaga Ball to the Summer Playground Program at Hazelnut Park. Of course, although the game is great for elementary and middle school students, anyone can play. Gaga Ball is played with a dodgeball or kickball, and the objective is to hit the ball with your hands; but you are not allowed to carry or throw the ball. If you get hit with the ball below your knees or break a rule, you are out and must leave the pit. The goal is to be the last person in the pit. The game is so fun that it leaves people wanting to get back into the pit and start a new game right away! One of the main ad- vantages of Gaga Ball is that all children, regardless of their athletic skill level, have the ability to participate and even win. The Gaga Ball pit should be ready some- time in May. Rules for the game will be posted. For more information contact Parks & Recreation at 651-792-7800. Benchmarks--a review of City Council actions March 13, 2017 As part of the Consent Calendar, Jeff Frid was appointed to the position of Public Works Superintendent and Sue Johnson as Customer Service Specialist for the City (3-0, Councilmembers Holden and Scott were excused absences). Approved Planning Case 17-002 to construct 7 new parking lot stalls and 3 curbside drop-off areas at Boston Scientific (3-0) Approved Resolution 2017-007 for vari- ous amendments of MN Investment Fund agreements related to the Land O’ Lakes expansion (3-0) Approved Proposal from BRKW to ap- praise potential surplus City property as part of an evaluation for a potential City facility at TCAAP (3-0) Approved emergency repair costs for a sewer manhole sinkhole on Amble Drive (3-0) Approved purchase of an Elgin Pelican street sweeper to replace the City’s 20 year-old Pelican sweeper (3-0) Approved contract to WSB & Associates for design and construction fees for trail and watermain projects on several City streets (3-0) Tabled decision to purchase a 2018 Mack truck chassis for snow removal/deicing and hauling summer paving materials (3-0). Approved final payment of $90,337 to Meyer Contracting for the Round Lake Road Improvements Project (3-0) Approved Resolution 2017-008 to cer- tify list of delinquent utility accounts to Ramsey County (3-0) Approved Planning Case 17-005 to vacate a drainage easement on the Boston Scien- tific campus (3-0) Modified WSB proposal to update the City’s 2040 Comprehensive Plan per requirement by Metropolitan Council to include only required items (3-0) I n s i d e Arden Hills, MN . 55112-5734 ECR-WSS PRST STD U.S. Postage Paid Twin Cities, MN Permit #1962 Postal Customer From the City Council--an update on the Comprehensive Plan What is the Arden Hills Comprehensive Plan?An important part of what the City Council does is planning for our City to maintain its vibrancy and well-being. As part of this process, the City updates its Comprehensive Plan every decade to comply with state law, and to ensure consistency with the Metropolitan Council’s Regional Development Plan. The Metropolitan Council is charged by the state legislature with planning for the Twin Cities metropolitan region. The City’s Comprehensive Plan, which will be completed in December 2018 and will focus on planning for up to the year 2040, needs to be consistent with the Regional Development Plan. The Comprehensive Plan has already been updated for TCAAP (Rice Creek Commons) when the Redevel- opment Code was passed last year. What will be included in the Arden Hills Comprehensive Plan? Land Use. Apart from TCAAP, Arden Hills is a nearly fully-developed com- munity and as a result, redevelopment pressure has increasingly become an issue in some of the City’s older commercial and industrial areas, especially in the Red Fox/ Grey Fox/Lexington Avenue business area. Our land use plan will also be considered concurrently with the Higher Education Study the City has already initiated. With the campuses of Bethel University and University of Northwestern, along with other potential higher education uses in the City, special planning consideration is needed with regard to educational needs. Transportation. Transportation and traffic are always major considerations. As Arden Hills residents know, there have been a number of road and bridge projects done in the City to improve our transportation system. Arden Hills must be coordinated with the entire metro area, and this is not solely for automobile traffic. The transpor- tation plan also addresses bicycle/walking components and bus transit. Water Resources. This section focus- ing on Wastewater, Surface Water, and Water Supply must also comply with the requirements of the Rice Creek Watershed District. One area of focus is that, with increased incidents of major storm water events over the past several years, our City and the region as a whole need to address how to improve surface water management to accommodate this increase. Park & Trails. Planning will help the City to review and prioritize trail and park plans. Arden Hills is transitioning, and there are a number of new families with young children moving into our com- munity. There is a great deal of resident support for increased trails throughout the community for walking and biking. Trails, however, are an expensive proposition, but with careful planning and the use of funding from grants and other sources, the City is expanding its network of trails. The parks and trails in TCAAP have been planned for, and we will see them being implemented in the coming years. Housing. Approximately 50 percent of the housing units in Arden Hills were constructed prior to 1974. As housing stock ages, the City needs to focus on this issue, to encourage property reinvestment and creative solutions to address housing maintenance. Arden Hills has traditionally been a community of primarily single fam- ily home development and has seen more recent development and redevelopment of multi-family and senior housing. Growth at TCAAP and redevelopment within the current City will provide opportunities for life-cycle housing and to meet broader housing goals. How can residents become involved with the planning? During this planning process, resident en- gagement is important. The City’s website will include a link to a project website for the Comprehensive Plan, hosted by mySidewalk, which will facilitate public participation by providing relevant data and information. The project website will also ask residents to respond to a range of questions on the community’s future. In addition, residents will be encouraged to post questions and suggestions that will be taken into consideration during the planning process. The City Council will be asking the Planning Commission; Economic Development Commission; and Parks, Trails, and Recreation Committee to review the parts of the Comprehensive Plan in their areas. If you are interested in being part of the planning process, you are welcome to join one of the Commissions/ Committees covering the subject of your interest. Once a draft of the Comprehensive Plan is completed (scheduled for Novem- ber 2017), there will be a public hearing and residents will be welcome to speak at that time. For more information on the Comprehensive Plan and how you can get involved, please contact Senior City Plan- ner Matthew Bachler at 651-792-7822. Fran Holmes, Arden Hills City Council Nutmeg Brewhouse opens New City Engineer takes post Tree servvice licenses outlined What’s Gaga Ball?