2019 Vol.13 Issue 5 November - Laserfiche WebLink

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Gem Lake News Page 4 of 6 There are Rules About Where Your Snow Can Get Dumped It is not permissible in Minnesota to plow your snow onto your neighbor’s side of the street or into the roadway or ditches in general. This was the subject of several complaints last winter. Due to the heavy snowfall that occurred in 2018-2019, there were complaints of what we will call “unfair snow rearrangement.” Last winter, some snow plowing ended up blocking several culverts. This prevented proper drainage and may have caused some flooding in yards and basements. Intentionally plowing or blowing snow onto a public roadway or culvert which results in any dangerous condition is a violation of Minnesota Statute #169.42 and Gem Lake Ordinance 86. School Board Referendum Certified Voters in the White Bear Lake school system approved a $326 Million referendum, the largest in Minnesota history, to cover the costs of building construction, renovations and upgrades in the years ahead. The election took place on November 5. The referendum passed by a margin of 57.40%. It is noteworthy that 42.60% of voters said no. The results come from the State of Minnesota, Secretary of State web-site. The referendum was requested by the Superintendent of School Wayne Kazmierczak to prepare for an expected surge in enrollment in coming years. The funds will cover the building of a new elementary school, security upgrades and other renovations to almost all existing schools, and the creation of a mega-school at the current north campus, that would server both junior and senior high grades. Cadillac Project Set to Start in Spring Some property clearing has begun on the south end of Gem Lake’s business district in anticipation of the beginning of construction for a new Cadillac dealership. Luther Cadillac is anticipated to begin major construction tasks next Spring or summer. The new dealership will be constructed on a parcel of land that spans two cities. The dealership sales and service building will be on Vadnais Heights land, while much of the north end of the parking lot will be on Gem Lake land. City News Page Gem Lake’s Third Quarter Recycling for 2019 A total of 91.37% of Gem Lake households participated in city wide recycling in the first three quarters of 2019. This is a significant percentage of the 290 possible pick up sites within the city, all remembering to put out their recycling containers every two weeks. The results of our recycling efforts were impressive, according to a recent report by Waste Management. A total of 23.6 tons of materials were collected between January and September. This broke down into the following categories: *13.8 tons of newspaper *3.0 tons of glass *0.9 tons of aluminum and steel cans *3.3tons of cardboard and mixed paper *0.8 tons of plastic *0.2 tons of scrap steel *1.4 tons of residue Residue refers to material that was put in the recycling container, but was not able to be recycled. (Remember, plastic bags don’t belong in the recycling container and can cause a real problem at the recycling facility.) Watch your newsletter or the Gem Lake website for recycling dates.