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HomeMy WebLinkAboutNovember 2018The Official City Newsletter for Arden Hills Residents November 2018 City to Host TCAAP Public Forum on November 15 TCAAP/Rice Creek Commons Redevelopment Public Forum on November 15 Ramsey County Public Works Building, Marsden Room 1425 Paul Kirkwold Drive 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Presentation begins at 6:15 p.m. General Election Day Tuesday, November 6 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. There are three precincts in Arden Hills where residents can cast their bal- lots. You must vote at your designated precinct. Precinct 1: Presbyterian Church of the Way, 3382 Lexington Avenue N Precinct 2: Valentine Hills Elementary School, 1770 County Road E2 Precinct 3: Ramsey County Public Works, 1425 Paul Kirkwold Drive If you do not know your polling place, visit the Office of the Minnesota Sec- retary of State’s Polling Place Finder at https://pollfinder.sos.state.mn.us/. You may also visit the City’s website at cityofardenhills.org/electionsandvot- ing, or call 651-792-7800, if you have questions. Mayoral and City Council seats will be on the ballot. Arden Hills' candidates include David Grant, Fran Holmes, Greg Rubenstein and Steve Scott. See the Arden Hills Notes October newsletter for City Council candidate profiles. The newsletter can be found on the City website. Arden Hills Staff and City Council members invite all residents and community members to a public forum to hear recent developments related to the TCAAP/Rice Creek Commons project. Staff will provide a 30-minute overview of the project, including an update on the approved Master Plan and current Master Development Agreement negotiations, an overview of how the development may be financed, an update on the progress of the Civic Site Task Force (to be presented by HGA architects) and an overview of proposed parks and trails. Following the presentation, attendees will visit five stations, where they can ask ques- tions of staff, consultants and Council members and provide feedback related to the following areas: • Master Plan and History • Civic Space Plans • Financing • Infrastructure (roads, water tower, sewer) • Parks and Trails The Rice Creek Commons development is expected to be comparable in size to downtown Saint Paul and will significantly change the City landscape. Plans include a mixed-use village with light industrial/commercial buildings, retail, various types of housing, parks, trails, a civic space and easy access to I-35W. Early estimates point to a City population increase of about 40 percent, from approximately 10,000 residents to nearly 14,000 residents. "This is a large project for the City of Arden Hills and the region, and we want to make sure our residents understand the scope of the project and how it will impact them," said Mayor David Grant. "We also want to hear their feedback on the propos- als and negotiations to date with our partners Ramsey County and Alatus, LLC." For more information, see Councilmember Dave McClung's back page column. State of the City Meeting Available for Viewing If you missed the State of the City meeting on September 27 or the October 2 replay, you can view it on the City's YouTube Channel by visiting youtube.com and searching for City of Arden Hills 2018 State of the City Meeting. Thank you to CTV for taping the event. Updates included the following news that was not covered in previous newsletters. New and Expanding Businesses Northpark Corporate Center is now full, after recently signing the last tenant. The corpo- rate center is located on County Road E, west of Walgreens and east of Wells Fargo. IntriCon, headquartered in Arden Hills, recently added 30,000 square feet of manufactur- ing space at 1275 Grey Fox Road, which is part of the old Smiths Medical Building space. The expansion will accommodate robotic assembly of medical components and systems and an expansion of the company’s molding capacity. Public Safety Four City sirens were replaced with two upgraded sirens at 4250 Old Highway 10 and Arden Place/Snelling Avenue. The new technology allows for coverage of the entire city with two sirens and provides better backup coverage as well. Transportation The City will begin an Old Snelling Avenue Reconstruction project from County Rd E to Highway 51, which will include replacing the Old Snelling Bridge by the end of Nover- mber this year and beginning Old Snelling Avenue road reconstruction and intersection improvements with Ramsey County in 2020. MnDOT's upcoming projects include improving I-35W southbound to Highway 10 eastbound with reconstruction, curb and gutter work. City work includes a new water main and replacement of the road due to the water main replacement. A third lane will be constructed on eastbound Hwy 10 between I-35W and Co Rd 96 in 2019. Construction begins spring 2019 on the I-35W North MnPass Project, which will include 12 miles of construction, the addition of MnPASS lanes, new pavement, noise walls and spot im- provements over the next three to four years. Ramsey County will undertake a Lexington Avenue construction project in 2019 from County Rd E to I-694 in order to relieve congestion. The County also will begin a pave- ment maintenance project in 2020 on Old Snelling Avenue between County Road E and County Road 96 and on County Road D between I-35W and Lake Johanna Blvd. Visit cityofardenhills.org/constructionprojects for road construction updates. 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@cityofardenhills.org Steve Scott 651-604-0919 sscott@cityofardenhills.org City Administrator Dave Perrault 651-792-7824 dperrault@cityofardenhills.org Communications Coordinator Dawn Skelly 651-792-7817 dskelly@cityofardenhills.org Communications Committee Council Liaison Fran Holmes Council meetings are held at City Hall on the second and fourth Mondays of the month at 7:00 p.m. Meetings are televised live on Cable Channel 16. Meetings of the Planning Commis- sion are televised as well. Please visit cityofardenhills.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. September 10, 2018 All items approved unanimously by 5-0 vote. • Awarded the Old Snelling Avenue bridge replacement contract to Veit & Company, Inc. for a culvert, which is located between County Road E and Highway 51. The funding sources to assist in paying are State Bridge Grant funds and Municipal State Aid funds. • Set preliminary tax levy and date for annual Truth-in-Taxation hearing. September 17, 2018 All items approved unanimously by 5-0 vote. • Authorized a Request for Proposals for Professional Auditing Services. City’s last competitive bid for Auditing Ser- vices was in 2006; new proposals will quote fees and detail services. • Authorized City staff to post for a pub- lic works maintenance worker to fill an open position due to a resignation. October 8, 2018 Councilmembers Holden and McClung, excused. All items approved unanimously by 3-0 vote. • Approved 2019-2021 Agreement for Law Enforcement, which renewed the City’s contract with the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office for police protection. • Conducted a public hearing and ap- proved a liquor license (wine and beer) for Old Southern BBQ Smokehouse located at Lexington Square, Phase Two. For a complete and detailed listing of recent City Council action, please review the meeting minutes on the City website at cityofardenhills.org and click on Agendas & Minutes. Benchmarks: A Review of Recent City Council Action Arden Hills Ice Rink Updates, Hours of Operation and Weather Hotline weather. Please check the City website for vacation and holiday hours. Normal rink hours will be Monday – Fri- day 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Saturday Noon to 8:30 p.m., and Sunday 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Freeway, Hazelnut and Perry parks. Cummings Park will have a rink attendant on duty Friday, Saturday and Sunday only. There will be a push button to operate the lights at Cummings Park during the week, but the warming house will not be open. Weather Hotline Please call for updates on rink closures. Weather Hotline 651-792-7841 Hazelnut Park and Perry Park The City will place a portable structure near the ice rink at Hazelnut Park that will serve as a warming house this season. The permanent warming house burned in a fire late this summer. The rink will only be available for hockey this winter. Perry Park’s ice rink will be configured to accommodate both hockey and pleasure skaters. Please see the upcoming Winter Parks & Recreation Guide—to arrive in mailboxes the week of November 12—for information and rules regarding City ice rinks. Ice Rink Hours Arden Hills ice rinks are scheduled to open Monday, December 10 and will be open through February 18 depending on the City Schedules Annual Truth-in-Taxation Hearing for December 10 The City will hold a Truth-in-Taxation Hearing on Monday, December 10 at 7:00 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers. The 2019 General Fund expenditure budget is proposed at $5,519,250. The maximum tax levy increase is set at 5%, which equates to a tax levy of $3,976,290. The proposed levy increase goes to support the following: • Two new positions – Recreation Programmer and Senior Engineer- ing Technician. • $100,000 increase for street main- tenance. • Increases in Public Safety con- tracts. • Projected wage and benefit in- creases. Register Now for Holiday Activities Letter from Santa Anytime-Register online by December 13 Enjoy the opportunity to see your child smile as they receive a letter from Santa mailed directly to them. This letter is written in simple, easy-to-read language. It will come in an envelope with Santa’s name and return address in the corner. Parent will submit special information that only Santa knows! Register online at cityofardenhills.org/recregistration. Gingerbread House & Holiday Gift Making Classes Saturday, December 8 Gingerbread House 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a..m. Holiday Gift Making Noon to 1:30 p.m. City Hall Grades K-5 $20 each class Get ready to decorate your very own gingerbread house! We will provide the decorating supplies. The Holiday Gift Making Class will be a blast as your child will create fun take home gifts. Parents can drop off their children for both classes with a bag lunch and enjoy some free time. Register online at cityofardenhills.org/recregistration. Breakfast with Santa Saturday, December 15 9:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. City Hall Ages 1-10 $10 per person (child or adult) Join us for a North Pole breakfast of donuts, muffins, fruit, juice and coffee! Play holiday games, win fun prizes, make an exciting holiday craft, and get your picture taken with Santa! Register at cityofardenhills.org/recregistra- tion, or call City Hall with any questions at 651-792-7800. The City received 327 responses to its Communication & Information Survey that was mailed in the July utility billing statements, which reflects a household response rate of 12 percent. Based on survey responses the City will: • Continue to produce, print and mail a monthly newsletter. • Discontinue Council columns on the back page. • Encourage sign up for City news emails. This is available now by visiting the City website at Cityofardenhills.org and clicking on Notify Me. You can sign up to receive the City newsletter via email, as well as City email News Alerts, agendas and meeting notices. City News Alerts contain information and updates related to public works projects, road construction, emergency notifications and general City news. • Post more news to Facebook. • Develop a City page on the Nextdoor neighborhood networking app. Thank you to everyone who took a few minutes to respond to the survey. Communication & Information Survey Results City Snowplow Rules The City's Public Works Department works to provide safe driving conditions for residents while balancing costs of snow and ice control. Street plowing typi- cally begins when 2 inches of snow have accumulated. Plows will get as close as possible to mailboxes, but the cleaning for access to the mailboxes and fire hydrants is up to residents. Please do not park vehicles on the street after the accumulation of two or more inches of snow until after plowing has been completed. Parking is not allowed on any City street between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. year round. Groundbreaking for 34th Red Bull Infantry Division Headquarters A groundbreaking event for the 34th Red Bull Infantry Division was held October 15 and hosted by Brigadier General Lowell Kruse at the Arden Hills Army Training Site (AHATS). Attendees included Congresswoman Betty McCollum, Mayor David Grant and City Council Members Brenda Holden, Fran Holmes and Steve Scott. $40 Million Headquarters Planned The Minnesota National Guard plans to build a $40 million, 136,000-plus-square- foot headquarters for the 34th Red Bull In- fantry Division, which is currently located in Rosemount. The building is designed by the Minne- apolis office of international architecture and engineering firm LEO A DALY and is being built by Stahl construction. Scheduled to open in 2020 The project, scheduled to be completed in 2020, will include an assembly hall, ready bay, outdoor ceremonial area, command suite, unit storage area and several class- rooms. The new development will be located east of the existing Field Maintenance Shop and Hamline Readiness Center, off Hamline Avenue, on the AHATS property. The building will house all headquarters elements of the 34th Infantry Division, which is currently deployed to Kuwait in support of Operation Spartan Shield. A library in the building will be named in honor of th late General John William Vassey Jr., who passed away in 2016. Building to be LEED Silver Certified The building is expected to achieve LEED Silver certification and will have sev- eral features designed to reduce energy consumption and promote sustainability. These include geothermal heat pumps, high efficiency gas water heaters, LED light- ing, daylighting controls and photovoltaic power generation. 34th Infantry Division Headquarters, copyright LEO A DALY Pictured are Brigadier General Lowell Kruse, Congresswoman Betty McCollum, Mayor David Grant and others. Pictured are Mary Lee, environmental protection specialist with the Minnesota Army National Guard; Councilmember Brenda Holden; Mayor David Grant; Brigadier General Lowell Kruse; Councilmembers Fran Holmes and Steve Scott; and Don Kerr, Department of Military Affairs, State of Minnesota. Postal Customer Inside Arden Hills, MN . 55112-5734 TCAAP Public Forum November 15 State of the City Recap Red Bulls 34th Infantry Headquarters Holiday Events and Ice Rink Hours From the City Council Fall is here and I am optimistic. Op- timistic, despite the fact that while I write this, I am watching snow fall on the lawn outside. I don’t know about you, but I am not ready for winter. Despite my lack of readiness, time marches on. And while time is marching on, so is the redevelopment of TCAAP/Rice Creek Commons. The City is working with Ramsey County, the current owner of TCAAP/Rice Creek Commons land, and the master developer, Alatus LLC, to complete the Master Development Agreement (MDA). The potential value of TCAAP/Rice Creek Commons is estimated to be $750 million once completed. With a development of this magnitude, the devil is in the details. It has taken us years to get to the point where we are on the verge of finalizing an MDA. The City has always envi- sioned a blend of housing, office, retail, and commercial and manufacturing uses that enhances and is complementary to the existing Arden Hills. Our partners at Ramsey County and Alatus are close to finalizing the details that make up the MDA- the final step before a sale transferring the land from the County to Alatus for vertical development. At the same time, negotiations continue between the City, Ramsey County, and Alatus on the Cooperative Agreement that becomes the financial framework for our partnership with Ramsey County and Alatus. Successful negotiation of a Cooperative Agreement that allows this dynamic $750 million development to become reality is in everyone's interest. No one wins if a workable solution for all three parties isn’t found. That is why I am optimistic. The City, Ramsey County, and Alatus have come too far to not find a way to make TCAAP/Rice Creek Commons happen. In unrelated news, there is a video mak- ing the rounds on the internet put out by the UL Firefighter Safety Research In- stitute. I highly recommend you search the phrase “close before you doze” and watch the video. Research has shown that the synthet- ics that make up the contents of houses today burn faster and hotter than they did in the past. In the past you had 17 minutes to get out of a house safely once a smoke alarm started to sound. With fires burning hotter and faster, that safety window has dropped to less than three minutes. As the video shows, simply sleeping with your bedroom door closed can provide crucial minutes to allow you to escape alive. So remember to keep yourself and your family safe and “close before you doze!” Sincerely, Dave McClung City Councilmember TCAAP/Rice Creek Commons Concept Plan ECR-WSS PRST STD U.S. Postage Paid Twin Cities, MN Permit #1962