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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDecember 2011 Gem Lake Newsletter December, 2011 Volume 5, Issue 10 Gem Lake News Special Interest Articles: • 2012 Budget Approved • Hunting Ordinance Revised • New Heritage Hall Sign Installed • City News Page 4 Upcoming Recycling Dates: December 14 December 28 January 11 January 25 Gretchen Artig-Swomley, Newsletter Editor Hunting will now be permitted under some circumstances on private property in Gem Lake, as long as well defined steps and procedures are met. This is due to changes made in the city's safety ordinance that pertains to the discharge of weapons within the city. The conditions under which limited hunting (bow only) would be allowed are spelled out in Ordinance #124, which now deals also with hunting on private property in Ordinance Section 4. This section spells out exemptions from state and county laws about when a weapon can be discharged for purposes of hunting. If you want to hunt on private property in our fair city, a number of rules must be followed. (continued page 3) Hunting Ordinance Gets a Second Look 2012 Budget Holds the Line on Expenses/Prop. Taxes The Gem Lake City Council approved the official 2012 city budget after a public hearing on the subject on November 15. The good news is that the total property tax levy is down significantly from the year before, increasing the chances that the city portion of property tax bills may drop for individual homeowners in the city. (The city's portion of your tax bill makes up just over 20% of the total property tax bill.) The total budgeted expenditure for 2012 will be $623,942, a 2.48 increase over 2011. The total budget includes the General Fund Operating budget, as well as things like the sewer fund. The General Fund Operating Budget will be $419,387, which is a 1.85% increase over 2011. The total property tax levy of $273,472 is a decrease of 14.60% from the 2011 tax levy. (continued on page 2) Gem Lake News Page 2 of 6 Starting at the beginning, it is important to note what is included in each budget grouping. The total expenditure budget comprises not only the expenses to run the day-to-day operations of the city, but also the Enterprise Fund, which covers the expenses of the sewer; and the Debt Service Fund, which services outstanding bonds. These bonds cover two roadway projects and the cost of Heritage Hall construction. The total budget of $623,942 is comprised of a $419,387 General Fund Budget, a $151,790 Debt Service Budget and a $52,765 Enterprise Fund Budget. The General Fund Budget tends to get most of the copy since it takes up the bulk of the revenues and comprises the area where the most discretion can be exercised. There are four basic categories within the General Fund Budget. These are General Government, Public Safety, Public Works and Transfers. The General Government portion of the pie is $184,922, a decrease of 10.84% over 2011. This would make up things like city clerk, city council, legal and building expenses. The category of Public Safety is made up of police, fire and animal control costs. This portion of the General Fund budget will increase 6.27% over 2011 to $120,800, primarily due to increases in contract costs. The Public Works budget will decrease 18.27% to $53,655. This budget covers things like street repairs and maintenance. The ability to decrease this budget category has resulted from various repairs and maintenance being made in the past few years to curbs, storm sewers and streets. The last category within the General Fund Budget is Transfers of $60,000 to other budget categories. The largest revenue source for the general fund is property taxes. These revenues are projected to decrease 17.1% in 2012, partly because the City of Gem Lake is striving to keep the general fund tax levy as low as possible, and partly due to declining real estate values. The general fund tax lev y will be $222,172. When combined with the debt service levy 2012 City Budget Approved (continued from page 1) of $51,300, the total property tax levy divided up among residents will be $273,472. Like most cities, Gem Lake lost 100% of the Local Government Aid it received. Also, the Market Value Homestead Credit program has been eliminated in its old form. Both changes resulted from budget chaos on the state level in 2011.The city has worked hard to cushion residents from the impact of these losses by keeping its budget as modest as possible, according to Gem Lake Mayor Bob Uzpen, particularly in light of the fact that the city's tax capacity (the total value of real estate) has decreased 7.22% over the past year. Even with conservative budgeting, it is possible that residents will see an increase in their total tax bill, due to increases in county and school budgets and the elimination of the Market Value Homestead Credit program in its old form. There was a handout sent with the initial tax statements from the county, which is designed to explain some very complicated changes and their potential impacts on home owners. Two important facts to keep in mind according to the mayor: 1) The city's tax rate has gone down about a percentage to 26.21%; and 2) the city gets only 21.68% of the property taxes collected. The remainder goes to Ramsey County (50.49%), the School District (21.54%) and other agencies, such as the local watershed board (6.29%). Gem Lake News Page 3 of 6 Three years after Heritage Hall was completed, the building has an official sign, which was installed in early December. The sign replaces the temporary structure, which had begun to look a bit tired over the years. Passing drivers can now clearly identify the three organizations that share Heritage Hall space, the City of Gem Lake, which has its offices and meeting space here, White Bear Township, which holds meetings and conducts some precinct voting here, and the Ramsey County Sheriff's Department, which uses Heritage Hall as a sub-station. White Bear Township and the City of Gem Lake shared the expenses of putting up the sign. New Sign for Heritage Hall To bow hunt within the boundaries of Gem Lake, you must follow all state rules and obtain the necessary state license. You must also be hunting only in the appropriate game season for deer, as authorized by the State of Minnesota, Department of Natural Resources. There are other conditions: You must have a permit from the city and you can only hunt on private land of five acres or more with the written permission of the land owner. Multiple contiguous properties may join in an application for a hunting permit, provided that the combined properties are at least five acres. All owners must jointly file the application if properties are combined. The property owner(s) must include a petition or other writing showing the consent of all owners of all parcels that are adjacent to the proposed hunting property. The application must also include a map of the property proposed for deer hunting that shows the locations of deer stands and of any buildings on the property and adjacent properties. The hunting must take place at least 300 feet from any home or 1000 feet from any school. Hunting must be done from deer stands only. If a permit is approved by the City Council, the land owner must post a cash securit y of $500 before the permit is issued, which would cover the costs associated with any permit violations, such as a runaway deer that has to be disposed of by a third party. A copy of the permit must be in the possession of all those hunting. The maximum duration of the hunting permit shall be three weeks. Please contact the city with any questions on the conditions under which hunting is allowed. Hunting in Gem Lake--possible but limited (cont. from page 1) Gem Lake News Page 4 of 6 BuBu Fee Schedule Approved for 2012 Fees for everything from building permits to re- zoning applications was the subject of a public hearing on November 16. The 2012 Fee Schedule was approved following the hearing and is essentially the same as fees for the previous year. The get a copy of the fee schedule, you can call the city secretary or consult the city web-site. See contact information on page 6. Charitable Gambling Receipts Donated by City in Time for the Holidays The Gem Lake City Council voted at its November meeting to donate its portion of charitable gambling receipts to two organizations. The White Bear Lake Area Emergency Food Shelf will receive $500 and the Union Gospel Mission will receive $250. This depletes funds available at this time from pull tab sales within city limits. Goals for 2012 to Be Discussed by Council As in previous years, the January City Council meeting will include an agenda item for the discussion of goals for the city in the year 2012. The meeting will be held on January 17 at 7:00 p.m. Last year's discussion resulted in a list of goals pertaining to road maintenance, volunteerism and citizen communication. The public is invited to participate in the development of this coming year's list. Gem Lake Fish Study Results Are In Results of a study of the fish community of Gem Lake are now in. The study was conducted by Blue Water Science Co. for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Vadnais Lakes Area Water Management Organization. (VLAWMO) The study began last September when nets were placed in the lake over a two day period in order to catch, count, study and release fish found in Gem Lake. According to the Minnesota DNR, the fish population of any particular lake in the state can be an overall indicator of lake health. The results of this study showed that Gem Lake most likely contains only black crappies, as these were the only fish species caught in the City News Page standard fish nets during the two day test period (September 27 and 28). The sampling showed that the number of crappies caught per net was unusually high, with an average of 37. Data from the DNR shows that the typical average falls into the 2-18 range. The black crappies ranged from less than 3 inches to 9.5 inches in length, with the average about 6 inches. Gem Lake is a relatively shallow lake and it is likely that winter kills have occurred in the past. A few years ago a winter kill probably killed all fish in the lake, according to Blue Water Science. Crappies were then introduced, either intentionally or unintentionally. Because Gem Lake is land locked, immigration of other fish species in unlikely. Blue Water Sciences went on to conclude that if there is another severe winter kill, the existing population of crappies will probably be eliminated and minnows will be the dominant species. A complete copy of the study is available at Heritage Hall. Ideas for the Gateway District to be Discussed at the January Workshop How can Gem Lake attract high quality development to our city when the real estate market finally recovers? This is the central question that will be discussed at an idea session that will be held January 9 as part of the City Council Workshop at Heritage Hall. For instance, would you want developers to be able to increase density when they develop open parcels the Gateway Distract of Gem Lake in return for more green space? The workshop will focus on filling in language within the city's Gateway District Zoning Ordinance that is intended to deal with incentives for builders. Your input at this meeting would be appreciated. Snow Plow Contract Approved The Gem Lake City Council approved an hourly snow plowing and salting contract with T.A. Schifsky's, the same contractor the city used last season. Hourly rates and material costs are essentially even with those paid in the previous year. The company will plow whenever two or more inches of snow fall, or they receive a call from the Mayor. Gem Lake News Page 5 of 6 Four Generations of Life in Gem Lake: The Hansen Family by Tom Hansen Gem Lake has always been home to our family. My great-grandparents purchased a farm they named Summit Farm, on a dirt road called County Road E around the turn of the century, over fifty years before Gem Lake became a city. Christina and Hans were dairy farmers, who began selling their milk off a horse-drawn cart, house-to-house on the east side of St. Paul. Christina was the matriarch of the family, who served as a midwife for the community. They lived in a house near where the Tousley Parts building stands today. This is where my grandfather, Robert, and my father, Allen, were born and where I lived while growing up. Gem Lake provided a place where my father skated and swam and cut ice in the winter for the ice house in the summer. I rode horses, and wandered through the woods and around the lake while growing up. In 1931, they stopped milking cows and sold some of the farm. We would buy some of the farmland back later. The dairy business continued to grow after that. Using a new model, Summit Farm purchased raw milk from Wisconsin farmers, processed, packaged and sold it. Local residents from far and near would come to “the Dairy” to buy fresh dairy products and watch through a window into the processing plant as milk was being packaged. My brother Skip and I were the fourth generation of Hansens to operate Summit Farm. We added an off-sale liquor store next to the dairy in 1971 and operated both until 1992. My wife Beth and I have lived in Gem Lake, one mile from the farm for 34 years. We raised our three children here and our roots are deep. Gem Lake has changed over the years. From mid- 1950 on, our family enjoyed trips to Hoffman’s Market for the best fresh meat anywhere, then next door to Lindorfer’s Bakery, for fresh-made bread, finally down to the Variety Store for whatever else we needed. But, everything changes and Gem Lake is changing too. We have a new town hall, a relatively new comprehensive plan, and a new vision for what Gem Lake will be in the future. My hope is that Gem Lake will continue to embrace its unique character while being open to meet the world which surrounds it. Thoughtful and progressive development and land use seems like a good philosophy for the future. 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: December 20, 2011 City Council Meeting at 7:00 p.m. January 3, 2012 Planning Commission Meeting at 7:00 p.m. Meetings: December, 2011 to February 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 February 7, 2012 Planning Commission Meeting at 7:00 p.m. February 21, 2012 City Council Meeting at 7:00 p.m. January 9, 2012 City Council Workshop at 7:00 p.m. January 17, 2012 City Council Meeting at 7:00 p.m. February 6, 2012 City Council Workshop at 7:00 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.