July 2011 Gem Lake Newsletter - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Gem Lake News Page 4 of 6 City News Page MS-4 Report on Storm Water Completed A state mandated report on storm water management, called the MS-4 Report has been completed by council member Jim Lindner. Jim spent countless volunteer hours trudging all over Gem Lake to document and photograph inflows and outflows in our city, as required by the report. The document will be submitted to the state, reviewed by the council at a future meeting and will then be the subject of a public hearing. Our thanks to Jim Lindner for taking on the task of completing this very detailed report. DWI Police Event on June 18 The White Bear Lake Police Department hosted a DWI Saturation Event on Saturday, June 18 from 8:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. in order to focus on stopping as many impaired drivers as possible. They concentrated their efforts on Highway 96, Highway 61, County Road E and White Bear Avenue. The results were rather startling. The police made 279 traffic stops. They issued 98 citations, took 29 people into custody, made 20 DWI arrests and cited 19 drivers for Driving After Revocation of Suspension of their drivers licenses. Similar events are planned throughout the summer. Preliminary Budget for 2012 to be Discussed at August City Council Meeting Believe it or not, it is already almost time for Gem Lake to begin putting together its 2012 Budget. The subject will be discussed at the August 16 City Council Meeting. Your are invited to attend and provide your feedback on this important subject. The City must provide tentative budget figures to Ramsey County in September for the following year. Exceptional Landscape Tour Join the Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District for a tour of four exceptional landscapes designed to protect and improve water quality and natural resources. Gather ideas while exploring LEAP award winning properties and meet the exceptional people responsible for their design and care. The Landscape Ecology Awards Program, known as LEAP, is a citizen-based program supported by the Watershed. This free tour will be held on Wednesday, August 3 from 5-9 p.m. Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District office, 2665 Noel Drive, Little Canada The tour begins at the Watershed office where the campus serves as a demonstration site for green building initiatives and innovative storm water management practices. See rain gardens, a green roof and a porous asphalt parking lot. These features enable rainwater and snow melt from the site to seep naturally into the ground. Then board the bus to visit: Marketplace Pond (Marketplace Drive, Little Canada) 2006 LEAP winner. The City of Little Canada eliminated a parking lot and created a pond to improve area water quality. Prairie and wetland vegetation was planted around the pond to provide a refuge for wildlife and to improve aesthetics. A walking path was installed to make this an easily accessible neighborhood amenity. Deborah Conway (859 Westwind Drive, Little Canada) 2003 LEAP winner. Deborah improved a storm water swale by introducing a variety of native plants to help soak up the water and create a natural habitat for wildlife. Amongst the wild ginger, prairie smoke, bulrush, arrowhead and other plant species, one can observe painted turtles, muskrat, frogs, butterflies, and wood ducks. Tony & Sunny Didier (2171 Springside Drive, St. Paul) 2009 LEAP winners. Tony Didier began his gardening adventure nine years ago as “an opportunity to rent heavy equipment.” By adding a swale, four rain gardens and a rain barrel, the Didier yard has become an inviting oasis that now captures water from their property, and even some from their neighbor’s yard. The tour is free, but reservations are required. To register, contact Shelly Melser at shelly@rwmwd.org or 651-792-7965. Space is limited, so call early to reserve your spot.