02/25/2008 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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• Friends & Fitness, which is aimed at middle school girls. Working with the Centennial High School track team, officers bring groups together in an encouraging atmosphere to talk about the pressures and challenges of growing up. • The Senior Safety Fair is a joint effort with the YMCA. Eighty -eight seniors participated at the first one in 2007. • Free seminars were started, to educate the public on topics such as Identity Theft, Self Defense for Women, and Adult Drug Awareness. The programs were so successful that it will be continued throughout 2008. Again, the citizens of Lino Lakes really showed their dedication to this community. They logged a total of 5,500 hours in 2007 in various public safety programs, and 44 neighborhoods held National Night Out celebrations. The Community Development Department is responsible for planning and economic development, environment, and building permitting and inspections. A major accomplishment was the completion of the streets, utilities and community green for the city's downtown project. Last summer the city council dedicated a memorial to Officer Shawn Silvera in the community green. In 2007, we finally got to say "the Chain of Lakes YMCA is now open." It is a pleasure to see it so busy and filled with Lino Lakes families. On behalf of the city council, I again want to thank the many local businesses and individuals who donated so generously to make the YMCA a reality. New development included the Hampton Inn and SMW Credit Union in the Town Center area. Also newly completed in the downtown is the city's first workforce family rental housing, as well as commercial space for lease. Despite the downturn in new construction, senior housing should be under construction this year. A Master Plan for the development and redevelopment of the Hodgson Road and County Road J area was complete last year. This master plan will help the area develop in a logical manner, and identifies appropriate land uses, shows future road improvements, and how utilities can be extended. The Parks Division of the Lino Lakes Parks and Recreation Department is always maintaining and enhancing our public spaces. 2007 saw major renovations in Lino Park, renovations at Shenandoah Park and Holly Drive, and a long list of tree and boulevard planting, buckthorn removal and baseball field renovations. A program started several years ago to install wood duck houses successfully hatched about 140 ducklings last year. The Recreation Division processed more than 3,900 registrations for the city's recreation programming in 2007, almost 1,000 of them on -line. Many of the annual events, such as the Sweetheart Dance, Snow Day, Kite Day and Breakfast with Santa, have become family traditions, and participation continues to grow. {PAGE }