2023 Vol 17, Issue 2 March-April Gem Lake News

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Gem Lake News Page 4 of 6 City News Snow Etiquette With record breaking snowfall this year, snow disposal has become an issue. Please keep in mind that there are several state statues that come into play when it comes to “snow rearrangement.” According to Minnesota Statute 160.2715, it is Illegal to dump your snow in any public street or right-of-way. The law prohibits the plowing, blowing, shoveling or otherwise placing snow on public roads. This includes the ditches and right-of-way areas along roads. Violations are considered misdemeanors, but civil penalties also apply if the placement of snow creates a hazard, such as a slippery area, frozen rut, or bum that contributes to a motor vehicle or pedestrian crash. It is also not kosher to snow blow that white stuff onto your neighbor’s property. White Bear Township Public Works officials have reported several incidents of creative snow disposal in public streets from overwhelmed home-owners. This will all melt soon, maybe. Prevent Spring Flooding – Check Your Culverts Because Gem Lake does not have an extensive stormwater system, we rely on other ways to make sure water flows properly in our city. Most of our roads lack curbs and gutters and we have a lot of driveway culverts. In most cases, the care and maintenance of the culverts are the homeowner’s responsibility. First, what is a culvert? It is a ditch that runs along or under a road or a driveway. Keeping an eye on that culvert is really important. When they aren’t maintained, they can cause problems that can cause havoc on roads and driveways nearby. Over time, those culverts get clogged up with twigs, leaves, weeds, grass clippings, you name it. It is sometimes called “yard lint.” It is going to build up, but it is important to make sure the culvert doesn’t get plugged up with all this stuff. The general rule of thumb is to make sure that yard lint doesn’t reduce water flow in your culvert more than 20%. It’s time to take a look at your driveway culvert, if you can see it through all the snow. Once the melt starts in June or July, will water be able to flow through it? It might be as simple as raking it out a bit when the culvert is finally more accessible. If things are really clogged and no maintenance has been done for years, more extensive work might be needed Several years ago, during the winter of 2018-2019, there was also an unusually heavy snowfall. This event clashed with several very clogged culverts in one area of the city. As a result, it complicated the spring snow melt and resulted in flooding issues. Be a good neighbor and just go check that culvert when you can. It isn’t glamorous. It isn’t even fun, but it’s needed. Charitable Gambling Donations A donation of $1,250 was approved by the Gem Lake City Council in February to be given to the White Bear Area Food Shelf. This donation comes from charitable gambling receipts that result from pull-tab and bingo sales within city limits. The council also voted to give $250 to the Northern Fusion Synchronized Skating Program, which is a youth group made up of skaters from the northeast metro area. Gem Lake Has a Facebook Page Acting City Clerk Melissa Lawrence has designed and published a Facebook page for the City of Gem Lake. The address is: www.facebook.com/CityofGemLakeMN The Facebook pages focuses primarily on special announcements and news items, events, etc. It is intended to compliment rather than replace the city web-site. Please check it out and “like” and “follow” the page. We are also looking for a few appropriate Gem Lake photos. Your feedback is welcome!