2024 Vol 18, Issue 5 October Gem Lake News

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Gem Lake News Page 5 of 8 Gem Lake’s Senator Visits City The City of Gem Lake was honored to have a visit and short presentation from State Senator Heather Gustafson at the September 17 City Council meeting. Gustafson provided highlights of this year’s session and discussed future projects, including the fact that she will be aiming to repeat her 2023 Public Safety Bill in some form, which provided significant public safety funding to every city in Minnesota. (Gem Lake received about $23,000) She also reiterated her priorities on education and infrastructure, offering advice and assistance where possible, on the City’s quest for municipal water funding. Gem Lake Recycling Totals Gem Lake residents kept over 57,000 pounds of refuse from ending up in a landfill this year. This reflects recycling results from January to July thorough Republic Services, the city’s recycling contractor. The recycling breaks down as follows: • 17,825 pounds of newspaper, mixed mail and phone books • 7,936 pounds of glass • 2,875 pounds of cans • 23,689 pounds of cardboard • 5,183 pounds of plastics Information on recycling dates and allowable materials can be found on the city’s website. White Bear Lake Montessori School Holds Open House Over 300 people took part in an Open House Celebration on September 20 at the White Bear Montessori School, which is located in Gem Lake, at the corner of LaBore Road and County Road E. The Open House marks the completion of an ambitious remodeling and expansion program the school undertook to better serve their students. The project includes the addition of two large and flexible classroom areas, a reinforced storm safety area, kitchen facilities, expanded office space and other features. According to Head of School Marnie McPherson, between 350-400 people, including alumni, current facilities, contractors and others took part in the festivities. “We had the MN Nice Ice Cream Truck, the “Bubble Guy” and birthday cake for all, as we were also celebrating our 55th birthday as a school.” White Bear Montessori gained official post construction occupancy of the school on September 20, when students were able to begin using the new classrooms. The $3M expansion project has been in the works for several years, due to rising enrollment at the school. Construction began earlier this year. The City of Gem Lake helped by approving what is called “Conduit Debt Financing” for the project. This allows the school to use the city’s tax-exempt status to get a better interest rate on the bonds, while placing no financial liability on the city itself. Congratulations to the White Bear Montessori School!