2014 Vol. 8 Issue 1 January - Laserfiche WebLink

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Gem Lake News Page 3 of 6 Mayor Reflects on 2013 Accomplishments The City Council continues to work with VLAW MO (Vadnais Lakes Area Water Management Organization) in efforts to clean up the pollution in Gem Lake. This will affect the business district in the city, as studies show that this is where most of the pollution that reaches the water body of Gem Lake originates. The City Council believes that 2014 will be more challenging than in years past due to the potential for rising costs. Although we have worked very hard to improve infrastructure, maintain and improve sewers and control costs, little more can be found to trim from the city's budget. New Planning Commission Chair Appointed Gem Lake resident Ben Johnson was recently appointed to the position of Chairman of the Planning Commission. The action was taken by the City Council at the January 21 meeting. Ben and his wife Sherri recently moved to our city with their two year old daughter. He was born and raised in Minnesota and attended the University of Minnesota. He enlisted in the United States Navy in 2002 and served six years on active duty, attaining the rank of Petty Officer First Class. (continued on page 5) 2013 was a very successful year. The city stayed within its expense budget and was even able to save a little bit to carry over into 2014. The Accounting Firm of CliftonLarsonAllen, audited the financial condition of the city. The city received a satisfactory rating stating that the city is in a strong financial position with adequate reserves. We did increase the City's reserves through expense savings. Receipts from charitable gambling in Gem Lake were down. Pull-tab income comes from sales at the Country Lounge and the city gets a percentage of this income to use for charitable and public safety purposes. Because income was down, the city was not able to fund grants to Willow Lane Elementary School and other organizations. We will hope for a better 2014. Believe it or not, we finally received Metropolitan Council approval for the Gem Lake 2008 Comp Plan in 2013 and the City Council approved the final submission. We have a couple years before we will need to start over again on the 2018 Comprehensive Plan. The City Council worked with the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Department to improve and increase the patrols within the city. The improvement provides additional patrols in areas where it was felt patrols were lacking, and alternating times and days to avoid too much predictability in the routine. The City Council has been working with SEH to help us obtain grant money for infrastructure improvements in the Hoffman Corner area. These improvements should help to bring in developers to the area and allow that part of the city to be modernized and basically improve the look of the area. This project will carry over to 2014 and beyond.