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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019 Vol.13 Issue 3 June mail boy0 June/July, 2019 Volume 13, Issue 3 Gem Lake News Special Interest Articles: • Two New Planning Commission Members • Luther Cadillac Dealership in Works • City News Page 4 • White Bear Meadery Grand Opening!!! Upcoming Recycling Dates:  July 3  July 17  July 31  Tip: put out your bin the night before for 7 a.m. pick-up. Gretchen Artig-Swomley, Newsletter Editor Two residents of Gem Lake were approved for seats on the city’s Planning Commission recently. The approval of applicants Laurel Amlee and Don Cummings took place at the City Council Meeting on May 21 and is effective immediately. Each applicant brings a wealth of experience to the table in terms of strategic business skills, as well as some actual city planning experience. Don Cummings, pictured at top right, is a new resident of Gem Lake who has long been interested in and involved with the city planning process, especially as cities attempt to define or preserve a “sense of place.” Over the years, he has served as a volunteer for various community education organizations, church, school board committees, and service organizations. He served on the City of Maple Grove Economic Development Commission, his last 4 years as (Continued on page 2) Planning Commission Gets New Members Luther Cadillac Plan Passes First Hurdle A special use permit was granted to Luther Cadillac at the Gem Lake City Council meeting on May 21. This special permit covers initial items needed to pursue a full blown application for a new Cadillac dealership that would be located in both Vadnais Heights and Gem Lake. This unique, boundary-spanning application is projected to need set back and other smaller variances in order to make the project viable. Gem Lake approved these requests as a first step in a larger project application. The large dealership will be located in between the Barnett Jeep dealership on the south and the current home of the Oswald family on the north. The sales building and much of the large parking lot will be located in the City of Vadnais Heights. The north end of the property, which will be comprised entirely of additional parking will be located in Gem Lake. Gem Lake News Page 2 of 6 Luther Company is ultimately seeking approval for a Cadillac auto dealership headquartered at 3494 Highway 61 in Vadnais Heights, but also encompassing 3516 Highway 61 in Gem Lake. The dealership building will include a striking glass façade that will showcase vehicles on display in the showroom. Sales offices, auto repair and car wash facilities will all be included in this building. The entire building will be located in the Vadnais Heights end of the land. The parking lot will include 613 spaces, of which about a third will be located at the Gem Lake, or northern end of the land. The parking and circulation are being designed to maximize efficiency and minimize pedestrian and vehicle interactions. The customer parking is located near the front entrance to the showroom on the north side of the building. The auto repair and car wash drop-off are located on the south side of the building, to allow customers dropping off their vehicles immediate access off highway 61 from Willow Lake Blvd. There is a proposed dedication of public right of way to service as a frontage road at the stop light, which could connect with a future extension of Hoffman Road, south of the site. Start dates for the project are pending approvals. Luther Cadillac Starts Project Approval Process (continued from page 1) Planning Commission Gets New Members (continued from page 1) Vice Chair, until his job took him to the East Coast. Cummings is retired after more than 35 years with AT&T, Inc. He led Financial Modeling, Systems, and Performance Analysis teams in Corporate Finance in support of AT&T’s Business Solutions worldwide. Laurel Amlee has lived in Gem Lake for 10 years. She works for John and Darlene Birkeland, who own business in the Hoffman’s Corner area, such as White Bear Floral. She takes care of leases, taxes and a variety of other jobs for all six of their properties. She also works full-time at White Bear Floral doing bookkeeping, and working in the floral shop and greenhouse. Amlee is raising her six-year-old grandson, who attends Willow Lane Elementary School, who is entering the 2nd grade. Amlee has a BA in logistics from Concordia. What attracted these two to the Planning Commission? “I’ve always been intrigued by the unique history of Gem Lake and impressed by the care its government officials take in working with developers—so much so that Betsy and I moved in,” says Cummings. “I’ve long been interested in how cities balance the pressures of growth with the quality of life for current and future residents.” “I am very interested in my community and what is happening in this wonderful town,” says Amlee. “I look forward to being a part of the Planning Commission.” Both new commission members are appointed for five year terms. A big welcome to Don Cummings and Laurel Amlee. Gem Lake News Page 3 of 6 Update on Water Gremlin Situation Gem Lake Villas Project Nears Completion Home sales continue to go well within the Gem Lake Villas project on County Road E. As of mid-June, a total of 20 of the 30 home sites are spoken for, according to Katie Brown, New Home Consultant for Hanson Builders, Inc., which is constructing the project. In addition, there are two additional home sites that are reserved. With only 8 sites left on the market, Brown says a sell-out by this Fall is possible. The project began last Spring on land once owned by Tom Hansen. Brown says “Please thank everyone in Gem Lake for your great city and support.” Long-Time Resident Passes Away Madonna Mae LaBore, who lived in Gem Lake for more than 50 years, passed away in June. She was 90 years old. She and her husband Lloyd LaBore settled down and raised a family in Gem Lake after he returned from service in World War II. Lloyd preceded her in death. She is survived by her children Diane, Dale, Bill, Sharon, Deb, Susan, Carol, Michelle and Mark, as well as 17 grandchildren. Lloyd’s father was also a long time resident of Gem Lake, who ran a dairy farm on land that is now taken up by the Gem Lake Hills Golf Course. Water Gremlin is coordinating with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MCPA) as it installs new pollution control systems to replace TCE, which is no longer being used there. Water Gremlin will be providing affected cities with trees to be planted over the next few years. The exact number for each city and locations for plantings is yet to be decided. Large Donation Approved The Gem Lake City Council approved a donation of $2500 at the City Council Meeting of June 18 for the White Bear Lake Area Emergency Food Shelf. The contribution will fund their Children’s Summer Food Program. The program aims at filling in the gaps when school lunch programs end and food insecurity issues set in for some families. The donation comes from funds collected through charitable gambling within city limits. Gem Lake News Page 4 of 6 Household Waste Drop off Information Various forms of hazardous household waste can be dropped off at locations around Ramsey County. The chief location is at 5 Empire Drive in St. Paul. From April to November, they are open Tuesday through Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. In July there will also be a mobile collection site at 352 Ben Franklin Road, Arden Hills. They will be open Friday 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. You will need a photo I.D. in order to drop off anything. For a list of what can be accepted at drop off sites, consult the Ramsey County Web Site under Recycling and Waste. Impressive Recycling First Quarter 2019 A total of 91.37% of Gem Lake households participated in city wide recycling in the first quarter of 2019. This is an impressive percentage of the 282 possible pick up sites within the city, all remembering to put out their recycling containers every two weeks. The results of our recycling efforts were impressive, according to a recent report by Waste Management. A total of 9.6 tons of materials were collected between January and April. This broke down into the following categories: *5.7 tons of newspaper *1.2 tons of glass *0.4 tons of aluminum and steel cans *1.4 tons of cardboard and mixed paper *0.3 tons of plastic *0.1 tons of scrap steel *0.6 tons of residue Residue refers to material that was put in the recycling container, but was not able to be recycled. Watch your newsletter or the Gem Lake website for recycling dates. Rush Line Update By Jim Lindner, Gem Lake City Council and Policy Advisory Committee vice chair Future regional economic competitiveness. This is a primary goal for the Rush Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project being implemented by the Ramsey County Regional Rail Authority. Keeping the Highway 61 corridor economically viable in a City News Page changing demographic landscape is an emerging theme of the BRT Policy Advisory Committee (PAC) as it progresses through the development phases of the project. The BRT PAC met most recently on May 30 and heard reviews of recent activities by county staff and their supporting partners. This included a recap of a recent bus tour of the proposed route that included Ramsey County commissioners, Met Council members, PAC members, local state legislators and elected city leaders, and congressional staff. Many said they were impressed with the route and project scope. Kathryn Hansen, senior project manager for Metro Transit’s office of Transit Oriented Development, informed the PAC that auto ownership on average costs drivers around $8500/year for gas, repairs, insurance, and loan payments. This cost can be particularly burdensome for low income and younger drivers who may lack the financial resources others may have. Recognizing this situation, many employers look to attract workers by offering transit-related benefits such as free or reduced cost transit passes. Employee transit perks also means employers can have fewer parking needs, which can be beneficial in urban settings . As spring transitions to summer, Rush Line staff is out at community events doing public engagement activities. Bruce Vento Trail users will find Rush Line staff at various locations throughout June during the “Tuesdays on the Trail” program. This will help explain to trail users how the trail right of way will be shared by the BRT and the general public. Gem Lake residents wanting to learn more on BRT can attend MarketFest on July 25. Other concurrent activities include engineering review of the proposed station locations and coordination with the Lower Phalen Creek Project and the Capitol Region Watershed District. Visit https://www.ramseycounty.us/residents/roads- transit/transit-corridors-studies/rush-line-brt- project for more information. Gem Lake News Page 5 of 6 Sales White Bear Meadery Grand Opening Set for July 12 S Eckton hopes to build the establishment into a destination for a fun evening out, akin to a tasting room at a winery. Check out Gem Lake’s newest business!!! The Grand Opening of Gem Lake’s newest business is set to happen in several weeks! The White Bear Meadery will open its doors to the public on Friday July 12 from 4:00 p.m. to Midnight. The Grand Opening will take place at 1595 County Road E East in Gem Lake. Owner Joshua Eckton wants folks to come and celebrate the White Bear Meadery’s opening by enjoying some of their hand-crafted Minnesota grown meads. Not such what a mead is? Mead is an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey, and then adding fruit and spices to make various varieties. The event on July 12 will include the following: o Free 1 ounce samples of their wildflower traditional mead (aka Valhalla for legal adults). o Free drawing for a variety of White Bear Meadery merchandise o Free snacks The Meadery is located in at the corner of Hoffman and County Road E, across the street from and to the north of Café Cravings. Eckton has spent months remodeling the west end of the retail building that also contains the gun shop, in order to make way for this “first of its kind” establishment for this area. Bob Uzpen-Mayor Phone: 651-492-5083 City Council Members: Gretchen Artig-Swomley Phone: 651-260-9742 Len Cacioppo Phone: 651-796-3222 Faith Kuny Phone: 612-718-4316 The following Gem Lake Meetings will be held at Heritage Hall in July and August of this year. July 8, 2019 City Council Workshop at 7:00 p.m. This is CANCELLED July 9, 2019 Planning Commission Meeting at 7:00 p.m. Meetings: July and August 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 This newsletter is also posted on the city’s web-site under the “Documents” section and the “News and Updates” section. We’re on the Web! See us at: www.gemlakemn.org CITY OF GEM LAKE 4200 Otter Lake Road Gem Lake, MN 55110 City Council Workshop at 7:00 p.m. August 20, 2019 City Council Meeting at 7:00 p.m. July 16, 2019 City Council Meeting at 7:00 p.m. August 6, 2019 Planning Commission Meeting at 7:00 p.m. August 12, 2019 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 “Documents” and “News and Updates” section. Please email your ideas, comments and suggestions. See box at left for detailed contact information.