Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMarch 2011 Gem Lake Newsletter March/April, 2011 Volume 5, Issue 3 Gem Lake News Special Interest Articles: • City Discusses Goals for 2011 • Historic Home Renovation • City News-Page 4 Upcoming Recycling Dates: April 6 April 20 May 4 Gretchen Artig-Swomley, Newsletter Editor The Gem Lake City Council is now preparing a proposal for the Vikings Football team to build a new stadium on city property. While this particular headline might fall under the category of an April Fool's joke, coming up with long range goals and priorities was truly the subject of the March 14 City Council Workshop, even if a stadium project wasn't among them. The council's goals and priorities turned out to be a bit more down to earth, such as installing a flagpole at city hall and encouraging more citizens to volunteer for city committees and projects. (continued on page 3) City Sets 2011 Goal: New Viking Stadium in Gem Lake Historic Bemis Home Gets a Major Facelift When the Smiths bought their dream house in Gem Lake in 2008, they began the type of "love/hate" relationship that usually comes along with remodeling an old house. In this case, the "old" house once belonged to Barbara and Judson "Sandy" Bemis and has long been a historic fixture in our city. While the couple wanted to perform a sweeping restoration of the big old house, they also wanted to maintain is original character. To get the job done, they hired Authentic Remodelers of St. Paul and planned a project that would be accomplished in phases in a reasonable amount of time and on a realistic budget. Naturally, not everything has gone strictly as planned over the course of the past few years. (continued on page 2) The original Bemis home, now located on the Hillary Farm Housing Development. Gem Lake News Page 2 of 6 "For a while it seemed that every week, something else went wrong," said proud owner Greg Smith recently. "That's just the way it is when you start remodeling an older structure." One of the happiest of complications to the schedule, was the birth of their daughter, who is now two years old. The fact that another child is on the way, has slowed things up a bit more. Greg's wife, Melissa Geller, is a local physician. However, some wonderful work has been accomplished on the stately house, which was once the original club house of the long defunct Mataska Golf Course. The couple wanted to break the project into parts to minimize disruption and spread out costs. The first phase of the project was to start on the south end and completely update the master bedroom and bath, while opening up the key rooms below on the first floor. "To do this, we eliminated a staircase to the second floor that chopped up the master bath floor plan. We also eliminated some of the walls in that area and "borrowed" one of the bedrooms next door to create a master closet. The result is a floor plan that makes better use of the space, feels more open and works more efficiently. " One the first floor, the Smiths turned a damp and outdated screened porch into a TV room off the living room. This, and the elimination of that staircase, expanded and opened up the main room of the house. A tremendous aid to the first phase of the project was the fact that Greg was able to find old drawings of the Bemis house on file at the University of Minnesota School of Architecture. Next, the couple turned their attention to an old "recreation room" in the lower level of the house. "The Bemis family used this as an old movie room and it was in pretty bad shape. There were some moisture problems. We went all the way back to the bare walls and made it into a great playroom. Along the way, the couple have had to address a lot of infrastructure issues in the house, including the old heating and air conditioning systems, ancient windows, and the lack of proper insulation. At present, Greg and Melissa are engaged in what they roughly call "Phase Two" of the remodeling project. This has involved taking down some of th walls that separated small bedrooms and turning them into fewer, but more functional spaces. (continued on pg. 5) Pictured below: top photo is the newly remodeled master suite, bottom photo is the new television room on the first floor. Historic Bemis Home Gets a Major Facelift (continued from page 1) Gem Lake NewsPage 3 of 6 A report on storm water runoff in the city was recently completed by the Ramsey Conservation District for the Vadnais Lake Area Watershed Management Organization (VLAWMO). The report was recently presented to the City Council for initial review. In most sections of the City of Gem Lake, storm water is properly running off, bringing a minimum of pollutants into the water body of Gem Lake. However, the report did highlight that one area of the city's business section has certain topographical features that do not allow for optimal runoff. This part of town is contributing more than an average amount of pollution to the lake. The report suggests various options to retrofit the area so that storm water gets absorbed where it falls and less pollution reaches the lake. The report was discussed in more detail at the City Council Workshop at on March 14. The Ramsey County Conservation District divided Gem Lake into three main sections. Sections One and Two comprise most of the residential sections of the city. These sections were determined to consist primarily of low density housing and large Ramsey County Conservation District Pinpoints Gem Lake Pollution open spaces with plenty of green space. Due to these factors, it was determined that they are contributing very little in terms of total phosphorous (TP) and total suspended solids (TSS) that reach the water body of Gem Lake. Due the green space, most of the potential pollution coming from storm water runoff is being properly absorbed in place. With the Gem Lake business district, particularly in the area surrounding the County Road E and Highway 61 intersection, the amount of impervious ground cover (blacktop, etc.) means that storm water runoff doesn't have a chance to sink into the soil. Instead, it ends up in Gem Lake or its surrounding wet lands. The Ramsey County Conservation District suggested various ways to retrofit sections of the business district in order to cut down on pollution. Suggested methods include the incorporation of grass swales and biofiltration into areas there are large swatches of parking lots and blacktop. Installing a grass swale would require replacing turf grass with native plants that improve filtration. Biofiltration improves the ability of the soil to absorb and filter potential pollution. The report will be discussed in more detail at city council meetings this spring. City Discusses Goals for 2011 (continued from page 1) The following were some of the potential goals for the next 12 months: *Attract redevelopment to the Hoffman's Corner area. *Clean up city ordinances, in terms of vague language and gaps in definitions. *Complete the MS-4 2010 Report, a state mandated report on storm water run-off. *Add definitions and other meat to the Gateway Ordinance (Number 107) including information on incentives the city might be willing to provide to developers. *Deal with storm water run-off issues that have emerged as a result of a Ramsey County Conservation District and their recent report entitled "Gem Lake Storm Water Retrofit Assessment." City goals will be discussed in more detail at future City Council Meetings, especially as it regards priorities, said Gem Lake Mayor Bob Uzpen. As always, involvement and input from the public will be key to setting the agenda for the year. For more information, please contact Bob Uzpen using the contact information on page 6. Gem Lake News Page 4 of 6 City News Page Landscape Project Cost Share Opportunity Once again the Vadnais Lakes Water Management Organization (VLAWMO) is making available to residents of Gem Lake the opportunity to participate in its water quality landscaping project cost share program. VLAWMO has funding available to help property owners implement landscaping projects that will improve water quality. Eligible projects include: rain gardens, shoreline restoration, purchase of rain barrels, native habitat restoration, pervious asphalt or paver applications, and other projects that reduce the volume of runoff from a property. The grant is a 50/50 match and can be for up to $1000. It is a reimbursable grant, so the applicant receives their money after the project is completed and reviewed by VLAWMO staff. Money can go towards materials and labor. Visit http://www.vlawmo.org/ to determine if you live within VLAWMO’s boundaries or for the cost share application form. (Parts of this were extracted from the February-March 2011 VLAWMO News website) Rain Garden Seminar Scheduled for March How and why to build a rain garden on your property will be the subject of a special seminar on March 30. Sponsored by the Vadnais Lake Area Water Management Organization (VLAWMO), the seminar will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Vadnais Heights Fire Station at 800 East County Road E. The workshop will cover the basics of rain garden construction and their positive impact on rainwater run-off. The $10 registration fee includes a free copy of the "Blue Thumb Guide to Rain Gardens." Participants will also receive up to 2 hours of consulting time from instructor and rain garden expert Kristine Jenson to help with individual rain garden construction projects. For more information, please contact Ms. Jensen at 651-204-6074. Commuter Helicopter Port Considered for Hillary Farm A commuter heli-port for workers to the two downtown areas is being considered for the open land on Hillary Farm, with helicopters taking off and landing every 20 minutes from a landing pad near the original model home. April Fool's... Gem Lake Scholarship Program High school seniors, take note: Gem Lake will award its second annual scholarship to one Gem Lake high school senior. The award provides for $500 for post secondary education. If you are interested, consultant your guidance counselor for more information. Last year's winning applicant was Jamie Nadeau. The program is funded by charitable gambling proceeds. Make Sure Your Street Address is Visible A reminder from the Ramsey County Sheriff: make sure your house number is clearly visible from the street, either on your mailbox or through a number sign. This will insure a speedier response to any emergency call. Ramsey County Sheriff's Department Takes on Animal Control Duties The Sheriff's Department plans to take on animal control duties for its contract cities this sometime this year. This would involve dedicating a full time position to cover animal control duties for its seven contract cities. The retirement of the owner of an animal control company that contracted with area cities is one of the factors that have led to this change. Improved service delivery and coordination are key goals the Sheriff's Department hopes to achieve with this new program. Some of the duties covered by an animal control person would include handling complaint calls due to noisy or dangerous animals, dealing with follow up after animal bite incidents, investigating potential animal abuse and neglect, and acting as a point person for wild animals that appear to be sick or otherwise threatening to humans. Gem Lake NewsPage 5 of 6 Historic Bemis Home Gets a Facelift Top photo: the newly remodeled master bathroom, which involved opening up a series of small spaces; bottom photo: a new family room emerged from a dark, damp recreation room. "When we opened up the walls, we realized we had to add insulation and take care of some other issues. We also had to deal with some water damage when we decided to redo the bathroom that is on this end of the house." The bedrooms in question are at the top of a large, sweeping staircase in the old home. "The rooms are kind of central. Even small changes make a big difference." Some of these changes included creating a hallway into the area where none existed before, which used to make the area feel very closed off. Phase Two has also included putting new dormers on the east side of the house in an area that was once used for ironing clothes. "We made the room into a cute little reading nook." says Greg. Things are moving more slowly than the couple originally projected, and that has proved to be okay with both of them. They are now working with one very talented contractor who is getting things done a little at a time, which suits their lifestyle "just fine." Phase Three of the project, may begin next summer depending on a number of factors, including his wife's pregnancy. This phase would include remodeling several of the small bedrooms on the north side of the house into a large porch, and possibly adding a garage somewhere. Greg Smith has long been familiar with the Gem Lake area, and with the Bemis family. As is turns out Sandra Bemis, (Judson's daughter) was his high school teacher. He also went to school with several local residents. Greg now helps manage Gopher Sign Company, which his family has owned for several generations. Since 2005, four homes have been built by McNulty Homes on the Hillary Farm Development, where the Smith's home is now located. The original Bemis home sits in the center of the development. Greg and Melissa say they feel a real connection to the area and are enjoying the charm of their older home. They project that they may take several more years to slowly and lovingly update it. April/May Meetings The following Gem Lake Meetings will be held at Heritage Hall through March and April of 2011. May 3, 2011 The City of Gem Lake Meeting at 7:00 p.m. Planning Commission at 7:00 p.m. PHONE: (651) 747-2790 April 19, 2011 FAX: (651) 747-2795 City Council Meeting at 7:00 p.m. City Hall Address: May 17, 2011 April 4, 2011 4200 Otter Lake Road City Council Meeting at 7:00 p.m. Gem Lake, MN 55110 City Council Workshop at 7:00 p.m. May 2, 2011 GENERAL E-MAIL: City Council Workshop 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 April 5, 2011 Planning Commission Your Gem Lake City Council 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.