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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJuly 2011 Gem Lake Newsletter July, 2011 Volume 5, Issue 6 Gem Lake News Special Interest Articles: • City Passes Audit with Flying Colors • City Talks Storm water ...zzz... • National Night Out Scheduled for August 2 • City News Page 4 Upcoming Recycling Dates: July 27 August 10 August 24 Gretchen Artig-Swomley, Newsletter Editor When reviewing a novel, the word "boring" would, of course, be a bad thing. When your audit firm calls the results of your annual audit, "pretty routine," this is an accountant's way of saying "great job." The City of Gem Lake got the news that the 2010 annual audit landed us in "snoozeville" during a review of the audit results at the city council meeting on June 21. Results show that no transaction had to be reclassified, no mistakes were uncovered, no checks were written to casinos, yup...In general Larson Allen, LLP, the firm hired to conduct the audit, had high praise for the city's conservative budgeting and careful spending. All joking aside, auditors gave the city an "unqualified" audit, which means a clean, or trouble-free result. They were particularly impressed with the (continued on page 2) Gem Lake Annual Audit: Not Very Exciting National Night Out Scheduled for August 2 The 28th Annual "National Night Out" will be held on August 2 throughout the United States. As usual, Gem Lake will participate with a fun and information-packed community gathering at Heritage Hall from 5-7 p.m. "National Night Out" is designed to generate participation in local anti-crime programs, strengthen neighborhood spirit and police- community partnership and heighten crime and drug prevention awareness. Last year's "National Night Out" campaign involved citizens, law enforcement agencies, neighborhood organizations and local officials from over 15,000 communities. In all, over 37 million people participated in last year's nationwide event. (continued on page 2) This fellow will not be at our community gathering, as he is a "clip art" policeman. Gem Lake News Page 2 of 6 City's long term goals of building a reasonable fund balance, keeping variable expenses low and developing reasonable budgets. The 2010 audit presented an overall picture of municipal stability here in Gem Lake. Net Assets of $2,000,800 changed little from the year before, when they were $1,963,562. Gem Lake adapted well to changes in the economy over the course of the last two years. Although total revenues were down for 2010, due to decreases in property tax, assessments and intergovernmental aid, so were expenses. This meant our excess of revenues over expenditures was roughly the same from 2009 to 2010. Here are the actual numbers: In 2010, Gem Lake had total revenues of $525,723, compared to the year before, when revenues were $719,555. There were several economy related declines in money coming in the door. For instance, intergovernmental aid, (money Minnesota used to give to cities back in the "olden days" when the state handed out money...) dropped from $74,909 to a measly $5,199. Property tax income declined from $446,108 in 2009 to $379,286 in 2010. The good news is that the City of Gem Lake responded by spending very conservatively in 2010. Expenditures were slashed from $600,631 in 2009 to $417,363 in 2010. This means that the excess of revenues over expenses remained almost the same from year to year. It was $118,924 in 2009 and $108,360 in 2010. If you have any questions regarding the audit or would like a copy, please contact the city at 651-747-2790. Gem Lake Audit Completed: No Fireworks (continued from page 1 ) National Night Out is Scheduled for August 2 (continued from pg. 1) "This year's celebration will include food and refreshments and a chance to meet your neighbors," says Gem Lake Mayor Bob Uzpen. As in previous years, it is expected to be both and fun and informative evening, followed by the chance to stay and attend the Planning Commission Meeting, which starts at Heritage Hall at 7:00 p.m. The Ramsey County Sheriff's Department is expected to participate in this year's "National Night Out" events and will be on hand to provide crime fighting information. If you have questions please call 651-747-2790. Variance Language Considered Under what circumstances could you reasonable expect to get a variance when you apply for a building permit in Gem Lake? That subject is now being studied in draft ordinance #123, which is being worked on by the Planning Commission. This draft ordinance lays out what factors would be considered when a variance is requested. The current draft lays out things such as public safety and health, traffic, unusual topography, economic impact, consistency with the City's comprehensive plan, adjacent uses, area aesthetics and water quality and factors that might impact whether a variance would be granted. Your feedback would be appreciated. The next Planning Commission meeting is August 2. Gem Lake NewsPage 3 of 6 Well-known city planner Marc Putman of Putman Planning and Design has been invited to take part in the August 1 City Council Workshop at 7:00 p.m. You are invited to attend and provide your feedback The focus of the workshop will be to come up with ideas for further enhancement of the city's Gateway Zoning District ordinance, which deals with open parcels of undeveloped land along County Road E and the Hoffman's Corner business district. In particular, the council would like advice on how to come up with incentives for developers, which was also discussed briefly at the July workshop. Putman Planning and Design first began working with the city in 2007 to develop a Putman to Provide City Planning Advice at Workshop bold, mixed use "village center" vision for open land on County Road E and the business district at the intersection of County Road E and Highway 61. He helped the city to develop an overall plan or "corridor," called the Gateway Zoning District, aimed at enhancing the small- town, semi rural feeling of the city, while allowing for careful development and increased density of both a commercial and residential nature. The result was a corridor area divided into four basic sections. These sections would be tied together with common and somewhat linking road designs, focal points, green spaces, thoughtful building orientations and unexpected parking options. Putman's input this August will further assist the city to be ready for developers who may be interested in Gem Lake once the economy picks up. The Gem Lake Planning Commission recently approved an ordinance allowing for a garden "overlay" zone for larger undeveloped parcels in Gem Lake, including the city's Gateway Zoning District. This would allow for the temporary use of this land for agricultural purposes, under set guidelines, while the market for commercial and residential development recovers from the current downturn. The land-use plans for Gem Lake have not historically assigned any land in the city for long-term agricultural use. This is due to the fact that the city has developed, and continues to develop, as a primarily residential community, surrounded by fully developed suburban neighborhoods. Draft Ordinance #122 was approved by the Commission on June 7 and now goes to the Gem Lake City Council for further discussion at the July 21 meeting. Garden Overlay Ordinance Approved by Planning Commission 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. Gem Lake NewsPage 5 of 6 Private Citizen Generates Solar Power in Gem Lake One Gem Lake resident recently installed a 6.58 kilowatt pole-mounted solar panel system on her property, that is expected to generate 8,000 kilowatt hours of clean energy over the course of a one year period. The panels have a total of 28 modules, each with a capacity of 235 watts. The panels produce electrical power that feeds through an underground cable to a special xCel meter. The home owner utilizes the solar power on-site to off-set electrical needs and sells any excess power to the utility company. The project was made possible through two rebate programs--one coming from the State of Minnesota and the other coming from xCel Energy. The state rebate program required sitting on a waiting list for nearly a year in order to access the state's solar incentive program. Once a state application is approved, the customer has the solar panels installed in an approved manner and through an approved contractor. The next step is to apply for xCel Energy's "Solar Rewards Program." Through this program the utility company has the customer sign a long term contract to buy excess power generated by the panels, in exchange for an upfront rebate to cover a percentage of the installation costs. for the rebate programs require a staggering amount of time and patience, and the systems are subject to the daily weather changes around us. All the promises in the world don't make the sun shine, so performance estimates are just that--estimates! The panels need to be adjusted periodically to optimize the angle of the sun throughout the year. Due to the size of the panels, this is a two person job. Even with the two rebate programs, it is expected to take about 12 years for the panels to pay for themselves in terms of energy cost savings. However, the prospect of generating renewable power is also rewarding for the homeowner. "I am definitely more aware of exactly when that sun is shining! I know in the long run, this is going to pay off." The panels were installed by Innovative Power Systems (IPS) in St. Paul. The company provided an amazing set of facts regarding the environmental impact of going solar. For instance, producing this much electrical power from coal emits 12,000 pounds of carbon dioxide annually," said Jamie Borrell of IPS. "Preventing this much CO2 from being released into the atmosphere is equivalent to adding 1,770 trees to our forests. Over the 30 year life- span of the equipment, this system will offset 360,000 pounds or 180 tons of carbon dioxide." The down-sides to solar are also there--the systems are still expensive, the paperwork June and July Meetings The following Gem Lake Meetings will be held at Heritage Hall through July and August of 2011. The City of Gem Lake August 1, 2011 City Council Workshop 7:00 p.m. This workshop will include Mark Putman of Putman Planning and Design and a discussion of the Gateway Zoning District. August 16, 2011 PHONE: (651) 747-2790 City Council Meeting at 7:00 p.m. FAX: (651) 747-2795 City Hall Address: Meetings start at 7:00 p.m. 4200 Otter Lake Road Gem Lake, MN 55110 July 21, 2011 August 2, 2011 GENERAL E-MAIL: City Council Meeting at 7:00 p.m. City@gemlakemn.org 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 Your Gem Lake City Council Planning Commission Meeting at 7:00 p.m. Newsletter e-mail: gretchenas@comcast.net To report incidents for the Neighborhood Watch program or for information on that program contact Block Captain Chuck Watson Tom Rasmussen Phone: 651-426-8854 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 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.