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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013 01 Gem Lake News mail boy January, 2013 Volume 7, Issue 1 Gem Lake News Special Interest Articles: • 2012 Accomplishments • Council Takes Oath of Office • City News Page 4 • Senator Scalze Reflects on 2013 Priorities Upcoming Recycling Dates: January 23 February 6 February 20 Gretchen Artig-Swomley, Newsletter Editor Last year was a very successful year for Gem Lake, according to Mayor Bob Uzpen. The following is a summary in Bob's own words of some of the highlights of the accomplishments of 2012. Finances First under the category of general budgeting: "The budget for all funds decreased by 10.12% over 2012. The general fund budget, which covers the day to day operations of the city, decreased by 25.10% over 2012. Any excess funds from last year were used to increase the city's reserves and help buy down the 2013 tax levy, lessening taxes property owners would have to pay in 2013." "Some may ask the question, is the City Council over-budgeting? The answer is that the council creates a realistic budget based upon past trends and then works throughout the year to improve upon spending. This means spending only what (continued on page 2) Mayor Reflects on 2012 Accomplishments th Council Members Sworn In New and re-elected members of the Gem Lake City Council were officially sworn in at the city council m eeting on January 15. State Senator Bev Scalze officiated at the swearing in ceremony, which was held at Heritage Hall. Mayor Bob Uzpen and Council Member Jim Lindner were sworn in for their second terms. Faith Kuny is newly elected to the council and was sworn in for her first term. (All terms are for four years.) Senator Scalze said she was honored and pleased to be present for the events and remembers how much she enjoyed serving on the City Council of Little Canada for many years. (See page 3 for more photos.) Gem Lake News Page 2 of 6 is necessary and making infrastructure improvements that are spread over multiple years. The City Council has also put into place a common sense maintenance approach to the city's infrastructure to try and stay ahead of major repairs." "The accounting firm of CliftonLarsonAllen audited the financial condition of the city. As a result of the audit, Gem Lake received a satisfactory rating, stating that the city is in a strong financial position with adequate reserves." Charitable Gambling "The city receives a small percentage of pull tab income, which it uses for charitable donations, as well as for the betterment for citizens within the city. This past year the city provided a $500 scholarship to a senior graduate at White Bear Lake High School, a $1500 grant to the Willow Lane Elementary School, a $500 grant to the White Bear Lake Emergency Food Shelf and a $250 grant to the Union Gospel Mission." Sewer Maintenance "Certain parts of the city have city sewers. The city has a maintenance program, which divides Gem Lake into sections for purposes of sewer maintenance. Each year, Gem Lake hires a company to inspect a section to make sure the sewer is working properly and if repairs are needed they let us know. This past year the residential area on Scheuneman Road and the Hillary Farm development were inspected. No issues were uncovered." City Planning and Public Safety "The City of Gem Lake is part of the greater metropolitan area and therefore must comply with the rules of the Metropolitan Council." "One of these rules is to create a city plan every ten years, which is called the Comprehensive Plan. The scope and timing requirements of the plan are controlled by the Met Council and consume significant planning time for municipalities throughout the Twin Cities. The current plan, which was submitted in 2008 was recently approved by the Met Council and was then given official approval by the Gem Lake City Council. In five years, the city will have to Mayor Reflects on 2012 Accomplishments (continued from page 1) turn in the next Comprehensive Plan, which will be approved a number of years later...and so the process continues." "The City Council worked with the Ramsey County Sheriff's Department this past year to improve and increase the patrols within the city. The improvement provides for additional patrols in areas where it was felt patrols were lacking. Times and days of patrols were also alternated frequently to increase effectiveness." All Creatures Great and Small "There are many landowners that own and care for chickens. This past year a citizen applied for a permit to own and care for chickens and was charged a fee of $600. The permit was governed by an old ordinance still on the city books. W hen the council was presented with this issue, it repealed the old ordinance and created a new one that covers all fowl and is accompanied by a more reasonable fee." Development "The city council has been trying to work with landowners who want to develop their land. Meetings have been held with land owners and developers to discuss ideas but so far nothing has materialized. The council will continue to work on this important topic, as land owners request help and information." "Gem Lake's City Council believes the priorities in 2013 will be to work hard to control expenses, provide necessary services, position ourselves for the future and protect the character of our city. " Gem Lake News Page 3 of 6 Class on Chicken Tending City Council Members Take the Oath of Office (continued from pg. 1) At left, Bob Uzpen takes the oath of office for his second term as Mayor of Gem Lake. Center photo: Faith Kuny takes the oath of office for her first term on the Gem Lake City Council. At right: Jim Lindner is sworn in for his second term on the Gem Lake City Council. If Gem Lake's new fowl ordinance has inspired you to keep and tend chickens, you are in luck. There will be a class called "Raising Your Own Chickens" on Saturday, February 23 at Century College East Campus. The class will be held in roam 2313 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The cost of the course is $39, which will include a wealth of information on all the ins and outs of egg production, etc. The course will be taught by a member of the Century faculty named Holly Borrelli, who has been raising her own chickens for years. For more information, contact Kim Van Swol of the Century College Continuing Education Department at 651-779-3259. To learn more about obtaining a permit for keeping chickens and other fowl in Gem Lake, contact the city secretary at 651-747- 2790. Winter Parking Rules in Effect in Gem Lake On-street parking is not allowed in Gem Lake after a snowfall of two inches or more, until after streets have been plowed, according to City Ordinance Number 86. (Section 6.4.2) Already, several snow events have occurred, to the degree that some plowing was needed. Because several cars were parked on city streets, the plows had to make an extra trip back in the hopes that the cars would be gone. "We want to be responsible with your money, so please get your car moved off the streets when we get a snowfall, " says Mayor Bob Uzpen. Gem Lake News Page 4 of 6 Traffic Safety Initiative on New Year's Eve Nets Results The Ramsey County Sheriff's Office hosted a New Year's Eve High Visibility DWI Saturation in order to keep the roads as safe as possible. Twenty overtime officers and fourteen reserve officers saturated downtown freeways and surrounding areas. As a result seven squad cars were kept extremely busy all night long criss - crossing the cities and assisting with stops, tows and transports. There were a total of 290 traffic stops. Of those, 22 people were taken into custody, 17 were arrested for DWI and 37 drivers were cited for Driving after Revocation or Suspension of their drivers license. Gem Lake Scholarship Program Gem Lake residents who are graduating from high school in 2013 should consider the Gem Lake Scholarship program. The program will be in its fourth year and uses charitable gambling receipts to fund scholarships for post secondary education. Information will be available in the spring through high school counselors. Liquor and Tobacco Licenses Renewed for 2013 Liquor, tobacco and charitable gambling licenses were recently renewed for 2013 for the Country Lounge and the Gem Lake Hills Golf Course. The approvals happened at the January 15 city council meeting, after review of each application. For the Country Lounge, the application included a request for approval of both liquor and tobacco licenses, as well as licenses for charitable gambling and Sunday liquor sales. In addition, the Country Lounge requested approval for the sale of liquor until 2 a.m. under certain conditions. For the Gem Lake Hills Golf Course, the application requested approval for on sale liquor and Sunday liquor sales. Each facility is now licensed throughout 2013. City News Page City Appointments Made for 2013 As required by state statute, the City of Gem Lake formally appointed individuals and organizations to various city positions at the January city council meeting. This included things like appointing a back-up mayor so meetings could be conducted in the mayor's absence. Some appointments are required by law, such as the city clerk, the city treasurer, the back-up mayor, and believe or not, a weed inspector. Other positions or appointments are usual and customary to assign to someone to once a year in January. This would include things like naming an auditor, a sewer inspector, a building inspector, etc. With the exception of services the City contracts for, such as fire, law enforcement, zoning administration, animal control, city clerk, etc. most positions are what you call honorary, meaning there is no pay what so ever... Some highlights of the appointments include the following: City Clerk: William Short of White Bear Township City Treasurer: Thomas Kelly of White Bear Township City Engineers: Short Elliot Henderson (SEH) Zoning Administrator: Robert Uzpen City Code Enforcement Officer: Michael Johnson of White Bear Township Representative to the Ramsey County Sheriff's Department: Rick Bosak City Emergency Services Director: Jim Lindner Ramsey County League of Local Government Representative: Faith Kuny Back up Mayor: Gretchen Artig-Swomley Assistant Weed Inspector: Jim Lindner February Workshop Topics Gem Lake's fee structure will be one of two topics discussed at the February City Council Workshop, to be held at 7:00 p.m. on February 11 at Heritage Hall. The second topic will be bringing consistency throughout city documents, such as zoning ordinances, the Comprehensive Plan and city maps. Please feel free to attend the meeting and provide your feedback. Gem Lake News Page 5 of 6 Senator Bev Scalze Spells Out Priorities for 2013 It will be a busy year in Minnesota, according to State Senator Bev Scalze. While in Gem Lake recently for the Oath of Office Ceremonies for our city council, she had the opportunity to discuss priorities for the year ahead. 1. Balancing the budget will be key this year. There is still a projected deficit for 2013. The exact amount of the deficit will be made more clear when detailed revenue projections come out in February. By law, the state paid back $1Billion borrowed from the school system. The budget shortfall could still be $1 Billion! Some tough choices will have to be made. 2. Bev plans to work on a possible bonding bill, depending upon the outcome of the budget debate. 3. Data privacy will be a priority for Bev in 2013. She is personally introducing a bill that would allow you to keep some information, such as an email address, private after you have provided it to a government entity for a specific purpose. The amount of privacy you are entitled to would depend on how and why the information was provided. However, the goal is to prevent easy access to email information by organizations like telemarketers, in situations where you may have provided your email address to your government for another reason. Bev has bi-partisan support for the bill. Initial hearings will take place in late January or early February. 4. Several infrastructure bills are very important this year for Bev. One of them deals with the Rice Street Bridge over Interstate 694. Another deals with highway improvements on the west side of the Twin Cities Arsenal property. 5. Lake levels have become a hot topic this year, especially in the Northeastern suburbs. "We are currently using more water than is being easily replenished," says Bev. "We are going to have to deal with this issue, rather than put it off for the future." Again, it may be a situation where tough choices will have to be made. For instance, she says cities like Shoreview have instituted quantity pricing on water usage. She is currently working closely with former Minnesota Representative Carol McFarlane and Senator Roger Chamberlain on this issue. Chamberlain represents the White Bear area, which is directly impacted by declining water levels in White Bear Lake. In 2013 Bev Scalze will be involved in four committees: a. Capital Investment b. Environment and Energy c. Finance Committee: Environment, Economic Development and Agriculture Division d. State and Local Government Bev Scalze is newly elected to the State Senate, representing District 42. From 2005 to 2012 she served in the Minnesota House of Representatives, covering District 54B. She also served several terms as a member of the Little Canada City Council. Bev welcomes your feedback. She can be reached at 651-296-2105. Her office is at 124 Capitol in St. Paul. Her email address is: sen.bev.scalze@senate.mn Bob Uzpen-Mayor Phone: 651-492-5083 City Council Members: Gretchen Artig-Swomley Phone: 651-260-9742 Rick Bosak 651-426-9695 Faith Kuny Phone: 612-718-4316 The following Gem Lake Meetings will be held at Heritage Hall for the next few months: February 5, 2013 Planning Commission Meeting at 7:00 p.m. February 11, 2013 City Council Workshop at Meetings: February and March 2013 Meeting Dates Your Gem Lake City Council The City of Gem Lake PHONE: (651) 747-2790 FAX: (651) 747-2795 City Hall Address: 4200 Otter Lake Road Gem Lake, MN 55110 GENERAL E-MAIL: City@gemlakemn.org Newsletter e-mail: gretchenas@comcast.net Kiki Sonnen: 651-747-2790, or Kiki.Sonnen@CO.RAMSEY. MN.US To report incidents for the Neighborhood Watch program or for information on that program contact Block Captain Chuck Watson 651-653-8319; Charles.Watson@bdk.com We’re on the Web! See us at: www.gemlakemn.org CITY OF GEM LAKE 4200 Otter Lake Road Gem Lake, MN 55110 March 19, 2013 City Council Meeting at 7:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. February 19, 2013 City Council Meeting at 7:00 p.m. March 5, 2013 Planning Commission Meeting at 7:00 p.m. March 11, 2013 City Council Workshop at 7:00 p.m. Jim Lindner Phone: 651-429-7597 For more information on meetings, city ordinances, recent events, permit procedures, etc. please consult the Gem Lake web-site. The address is www.gemlakemn.org Each Gem Lake Newsletter is also posted on the web-site under the news section. Please email your ideas, comments and suggestions. See box at left for detailed contact information.