Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutFebruary 2012 Gem Lake Newsletter February, 2012 Volume 6, Issue 2 Gem Lake News Special Interest Articles: • LaBore Road Extension Plans • Traffic Enforcement Report for 2011 • City News Page 4 • Farewell to Lloyd LaBore Upcoming Recycling Dates: February 22 March 7 March 21 Gretchen Artig-Swomley, Newsletter Editor After years of discussion on the matter, there appears to be movement on the idea of extending LaBore Road through to White Bear Parkway. This would create another important corridor for drivers entering and exiting the nearby freeway. The Cities of Vadnais Heights and White Bear Township, both of which have land bordering the affected area, have begun more serious talks on the subject of getting this project off the ground. There are a variety of reasons this old dog is starting to hunt. First and most importantly, the City of Vadnais Heights has pooled tax increment money that could pay for much of the project, but the funds must be spent by 2015. Total project costs are estimated to be $4.3 Million. The availability of funding has made this project much more viable than in previous years. (Continued on page 2) LaBore Road Extension May Actually Happen Several People Drove Too Fast in Gem Lake in 2011... The annual report of the Ramsey County Sheriff's Traffic Unit for 2011 was recently completed and sent to contract cities, such as Gem Lake. It shows that our city comprised 3% of traffic stops made within the seven contract cities of Arden Hills, Shoreview, Vadnais Heights, North Oaks, Little Canada, Gem Lake and White Bear Township. In total, there were 89 traffic stops made in Gem Lake, comprised of 84 citations and five verbal warnings. The vast majority of the tickets were issued for speeding, with a surprising number coming for incidents of a driver going more than 15 miles over the speed limit. (Continued on page 4) Gem Lake News Page 2 of 6 Next, reports commissioned by Vadnais Heights from their planning and engineering departments were presented recently to their city council. These reports showed the project to be entirely feasible. Also, there has been renewed interest in the long-planned traffic corridor by members of the Vadnais Heights City Council, according to Gem Lake City Clerk Bill Short, who also plays the same role for White Bear Township. Additionally important is the fact that Structural Wood Products Inc., which owns much of the land that the new road would run across, has expressed new interest in possibly selling the land so the project can proceed. This project has a long, long history... The original planning of Interstate 35-E in this area called for a route that was slightly east of where the freeway lies today. The wetlands and perhaps some influential landowners in the area, if legends are to be believed, caused the freeway to settle into its current route. A comprehensive plan written by Bill Short for White Bear Township in 1975 called for the extension of LaBore Road to link it up with White Bear Parkway. "Ironically, I am one of the people who wrote about the need for this road extension many years ago and here we are talking about it today," says Bill. Scroll forward to March of 1995, when the I- 35 corridor management group identified the need for this link up in the roads, to provide for more efficient traffic flow. This team was made up of representatives from the Cities of White Bear, Vadnais Heights, Gem Lake, North Oaks, as well as White Bear Township, Ramsey County, the Metropolitan Council and the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Recently, increased traffic volumes have made the need for more and better alternative routes on and off of Interstate LaBore Road Extension May Happen (continued from page 1) 35E even more pressing. Several cities, such as Vadnais Heights and Gem Lake have listed this project as a priority in their Comprehensive Plans over the course of many years. Although it may have seemed that the recently completed I-35-E construction project, that snarled traffic last year, led to renewed interest in this road extension, it's simply a coincidence, according to Bill Short. "This project has been on the burner for a while. The fact that funding is more available is the primary reason we are hearing more about it now." A conceptual plan for the project was authorized during a key meeting held last month between key cities and organizations. Structural Wood Products was in attendance and participated in initial design discussions. At present, initial plans for the project call for design work to be completed in 2012 and construction to begin in 2013. Chances are now better than not that the project will proceed, says Bill Short. He added that about 4/5ths of the land involved in this potential project is located in Vadnais Heights. The remaining fifth is located in the Township. "The road bed in the Township's portion of the road link up was built 10 years ago, so we are definitely ready." Recently, the White Bear Township Board unanimously approved a resolution of support for the City of Vadnais Heights Road Improvement Grant application. Gem Lake News Page 3 of 6 The details of the city's contract with the Ramsey County Sheriff's Department were discussed at a productive meeting with Sheriff Matt Bostrom and members of his top level management staff. The meeting was held on January 26 at Heritage Hall. Mayor Bob Uzpen and City Council Member Gretchen Artig-Swomley represented Gem Lake at the meeting. The Mayor outlined the city's expectations for the year ahead, which included an emphasis on traffic enforcement (see story beginning on page 1) and more sheriff patrols whenever possible. Of the meeting Sheriff Bostrom said "We are proud to serve the residents of Gem Lake. Thank you for taking the time to provide your recommendations on ways we can improve service." Mayor Bob said he was also very appreciate of the time the department took out of busy schedules to be there and to listen. Mayor Meets With Sheriff's Department Long time Gem Lake resident was a newsletter editor's dream. He had a storehouse a funny stories and a memory like a steel trap. I interviewed Lloyd many times over the last six years, whenever I needed someone who could remember the details of Gem Lake's colorful past. He was always a delight to chat with. Lloyd left us February 1, survived by his loving wife Madonna, his spouse of 64 years, and nine children, who he and Madonna raised in a modest house in Gem Lake. Here reprinted in his memory, is an interview I did of him to celebrate Veterans Day in 2008. Lloyd LaBore was only 17 years old when he left his family in Gem Lake and joined the U.S. Navy. It was late 1942 and men were urgently needed. He was eager to see more of the world, get a break from the hard work involved in the family dairy farm, and do his part for his country. Little did he know the war time drama and the brush with history that awaited him! Lloyd enlisted in the Navy but was transferred to the 4th Marine Division, where his skills as a newly trained medic would be needed on Tinian Island. Tinian is part of the Mariana Islands, which are 1300 miles southeast We Say Goodbye to a True "Gem"--Lloyd LaBore of Tokyo. The islands were strategically crucial to the Allies, providing the potential for an airbase and a supply station. The problem was that his division had to first take the island away from the Japanese, in order to establish this crucial toe- hold in the pacific theater. The invasion of Tinian Island was costly and Lloyd would prefer not to dwell on the details. However, his job then became to help establish the hospital there. A very important airstrip was also being built. He spent 17 months on the island working as a medic and dealing with enemy soldiers who were still hiding in the hills. (continued on page 5) Sheriff Matt Bostrom Gem Lake News Page 4 of 6 BuBu Auditing Firm Selected CliftonLarsonAllen, LLP, formerly Larson Allen, LLP has been selected for the 2011 audit of the City of Gem Lake. The decision to hire the firm to do the audit was made at the City Council Meeting on January 17. The city agreed to pay an all inclusive price of $10,400 for the audit, which is in line with the year before, when the not to exceed price was $10,100. The city has been able to keep audit costs low by tightly coordinating the process with the finance staff, according to city treasurer Jessie Hart. Results are expected in the Spring. 2012 Fire Contract Accepted The City of Gem Lake has accepted the terms of the 2012 Fire Services Contract through the City of White Bear. White Bear will provide fire and inspection services for $17,552, which is a 4.09% increase over the year before. City Appointments to be Made at January Council Meeting 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. Mayor Bob Uzpen is the Weed Commissioner and Jessie Hart is our City Treasurer. For a complete list of appointments, contact City Secretary Kiki Sonnen using the contact information on page 6. City of Dellwood Passes Wind Energ y Ordinance Like Gem Lake, the City of Dellwood recently passed an ordinance establishing regulations for the location, installation, operation and maintenance of wind energy conversion system, more commonly known as turbines. These wind conversion systems will be allowed only in the Farm/Estate District and the Private Club District, with a Conditional Use Permit. The ordinance deals with both large towered systems and smaller and roof mounted systems. X-Cel to Start Project on Big Fox Road Underground cable on Big Fox road will soon be replaced by x-Cel Energy with new cabling that works better and cuts down on outages. When the ground thaws, x-Cel will be replacing the City News Page transformers in that area. The utility company will be notifying customers in the immediate area when the work is being done, so they can prepare for possible short-term power outages. Citizen's Fire Academy Open to the Public The White Bear Fire Department invites citizens of White Bear Lake, The Township, Dellwood, Birchwood Village and Gem Lake to participate in the Citizen's Fire Academy. This eight week course runs Wednesday nights from February 22 to April 11 and is designed to teach people what emergency response really means. This free program will cover a variety of fire safety and fire fighting topics from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. each Wednesday during the academy. According to Fire Chief Vadnais of the White Bear Lake Fire Department, "We really want the Academy to be a fun experience, not an intimidating one, so participants can choose to opt out of any activities they are not comfortable trying. Topics will include things like home fire safety, fire extinguisher use, fire ground operations, auto extrication and a history of the fire department. If you are interested in participating, more information and an application can be found on the City's website at: www.WhiteBearLake,org. Annual Traffic Enforcement Report for Gem Lake (Continued from page 1) In addition to speeding violations, citations were issued for things like running stop signs, failing to buckle up and other types of driving offenses. These non-speed related incidents made up 15 of the 89 total traffic stops. The total number of Gem Lake traffic stops rose from 79 in 2010 to 89 in 2011. Some of the tickets issued throughout the seven contract cities come as a results of speed display equipment installations that are followed by the concentration of speed enforcement vehicles. In 2011, these speed displays were set up twice in Gem Lake. The first set up happened for eight days, starting July 14. The second happened for five days, starting on October 11. Gem Lake News Page 5 of 6 Gem Lake Says Good-bye to Lloyd LaBore--(continued from pg. 3) During this time, the airstrip was home base for a fleet of B-29 bombers, the new and revolutionary plane that had just been put in action by the Army Air Force. The B-29 represented the very latest in American engineering and brought new advances in speed, range and bomb load. The fleet of planes performed regular bombing raids on long-range targets in the Pacific and returned to base for refueling and repair. They regularly came back full of bullet holes. Lloyd once witnessed a spectacular and successful belly landing of a damaged B-29. He remembers one particular plane being equipped there that was brand new and very shiny. It was called the ‘Enola Gay.’ Although he did not know it at the time, the Enola Gay was in the process of being fitted on Lloyd’s island with the world’s first atomic bomb, which would be dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. For months and months, Lloyd received no mail from home. Then one day he received a stack of letters. He arranged them in date order so he could savor them chronologically. In the first letters, his father Duesty LaBore, wrote that he was thinking of selling his farm in Gem Lake. By the last letter, Duesty had sold the farm and was living in California. Life was hectic on Tinian Island, due to constant battle support activities that were going on. Many civilians lived there and some of them sought out medical services from the American soldiers, including one woman whose baby Lloyd delivered. After his time on Tinian, Lloyd was assigned to the hospital ship Repose. The ship moved eastward delivering medical services throughout the Pacific. Lloyd had one nine day leave during his three years of war-time service. It took three of those nine precious days just to get home. When he got here, gas was strictly rationed. He showed up in uniform at the fire station in downtown White Bear and was given one precious stamp for five gallons of gas. When he asked for one more, the elderly woman running the coupon desk said “Sonny, there’s a war on!” Enough time has now passed for Lloyd to confess that Henry Hoffman, who ran a gas station at Hoffman’s Corners, also slipped him a coupon or two. During the most harrowing times of the war, Lloyd promised himself that if he survived and was able to come home, he would really have fun. At first, he had a bit too much fun, crashing his car back in Minnesota shortly after he was discharged from the service in 1947. While in the hospital, he was visited by a friend who brought his future wife Madonna along. The first time the couple met, Lloyd was covered with bandages. They went on to marry in 1948. Lloyd trained as an airplane mechanic, but spent most of his post war career as a masonry contractor. He and Madonna have had nine children and “a lot of fun.” Our deepest sympathies from the Gem Lake City Council to the family of Lloyd LaBore--a real gem and a great citizen of our city. Photo above: a B-29 bomber named the Enola Gay on Tinian Island in 1945. Bob Uzpen-Mayor Phone: 651-492-5083 City Council Members: Gretchen Artig-Swomley Phone: 651-260-9742 Rick Bosak 651-426-9695 Jim Lindner Phone: 651-429-7597 The following Gem Lake Meetings will be held at Heritage Hall for the next few months: February 21, 2012 City Council Meeting at 7:00 p.m. March 6, 2012 Planning Commission Meeting at 7:00 p.m. Meetings: February and March 2012 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 12, 2012 City Council Workshop at 7:00 p.m. March 20, 2012 City Council Meeting at 7:0 p.m. Tom Rasmussen Phone: 651-426-8854 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.