04-13-2005 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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Communicate Goals and Progress to Community — Historically, we have reported our annual goals to the community via the newsletter. With our Town Meeting, we also reviewed current goals and progress with our past year's goals. We will incorporate a "goals status report" in future newsletter issues. If you have some specific ideas on format or content, your input would be appreciated. Install Emergency Back -up Power Generator at City Center — This has been budgeted for a number of years, but not yet accomplished. We will attempt to complete this item in 2005. I will discuss it with staff to determine our specific course of action once the new Public Works Superintendent is hired. Upgrade Basement of Old Fire Hall and Expand Parking — With the ICWC program, we may have a labor force to work on this item. Staff believes the basement of the Old Fire Hall could use renovations in the kitchen. Removal of the paneling and new ceiling tile could be other options. The only concern I have is the recent complaints about our rental activity impacting the neighbors. Before we invest too much, we may want to be sure that continued rental activity is appropriate or if other measure can be implemented (on -site supervision) to ensure we are a good neighbor. Your comments on this matter are desired. Review /Study Lake Water Quality Improvements — We have done a number of ponding projects to help certain areas of the City associated with street reconstruction (Little Canada Road, Market Place Ponds, Twin Lake, and rainwater gardens along Noel Drive and Carla Lane). The Ramsey /Washington Metro Watershed District has also made significant efforts in this regard with projects such as Owasso Basin, Gervais Mill Pond, and the pond off of Edgerton by Gervais Beach. We did sweep our streets earlier this year and coupled with more frequent sweeping to review sediments has been suggested by the Watershed. I will ask the Watershed for other suggestions they have along these lines and report back to you. Develop Proactive Approach to Crime Prevention — As you know, we have one crime prevention officer serving all of the contracting jurisdictions. The Contracting Group has been very explicit over the years that this person needs to focus on our top priorities versus running with the newest fad in crime prevention. The top focal points are supporting /expanding neighborhood watch, crime free multi- housing, thefts from autos, and business premises surveys. Dan Ruettimann is our current crime prevention officer and has done a good job acclimating himself to this role and keeping on task. I believe we could greatly enhance his efficiency by providing him with permanent clerical support. We did add some part time support about a year ago, but due to union regulations, this person turns over every six months. Our contract is looking at this as part of the 2006 budget and I will keep you apprised. We may also want to have Dan come in to an Update Workshop to give you more details as to what he is working on. Let me know you thoughts in this regard. (I will caution you however, that Dan is out most of the summer on parenting leaving due to the birth of his first children — twins!) Negotiate Single Sort Recycling with Haulers — Waste Management, Inc. has implemented a single sort recycling system whereby all recyclables go into one wheeled container. They use an elaborate sorting facility to separate recyclables for further processing. To date, they 4