04/24/2006 Council Minutes (3) - Laserfiche WebLink

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• • COUNCIL MINUTES APRIL 24, 2006 APPROVED I want to again acknowledge and honor Officer Shawn Silvera. His death in the line of duty in September 2005 truly moved us all and brought us together as a community in a new way. While we grieved, we found strength in the many people who united with us to share in commemorating our fallen hero. Shawn's wife, Jennifer, and his children, Jordan and Madelynn, will always be in our thoughts and prayers. Legislation has been proposed to designate the portion of I-35 from the site of the accident north to Washington County 2 (Broadway Street) in Forest Lake in Officer Silvera's honor. Representative Ray Vandeveer has authored this bill in the House, along with Representative Phil Krinkie. Senator Michele Bachmann is authoring a version of the bill in the Senate, along with Senator Mady Reiter. We are proud to be able to honor Officer Silvera's memory in this way. FINANCE DEPARTMENT Our finance department is always looking for ways to save costs. Just one example is the refinancing of bonds in 2005, which saved the city $123,000. And for the 10th year in a row, it has received national recognition for its financial management by being awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officer's Association. PARKS DEPARTMENT Our parks division of our public services department installed the Birch Street trail in 2005, a major link from Blackduck Drive to Pheasant Hills Drive. The dedicated staff is consistently renovating and replacing parks equipment, planting and replacing trees and seeding, sodding, and mulching our public areas to keep this city green. Our recreation division started on-line registration for recreation programs, processed 3,545 registrations, and held all the many regular and special events that become increasingly popular with each passing year—from the Family Turkey Shoot to tennis programs to summer playground activities. PUBLIC WORKS Our public works division patches our streets, replaces public signage, trims and removes trees. Our utilities division keeps our sewer and water systems operational and safe. They adopted Part 2 of the city's Wellhead Protection Plan and a Vulnerability Assessment Plan in 2005. BUILDING SERVICES Our building services in 2005 issued a total of 1,364 building permits for new construction and improvements valued at almost $54 million. Of these permits, 196 were for new construction of single family residences and townhomes, valued at almost $38 million. Commercial and industrial new construction and additions totaled over $6 million. CONCLUSION I want to thank the members of the city council and our excellent staff who, year after year, work so hard to make Lino Lakes a better place to live. I particularly want to thank our residents who took the time to participate in the recent survey, for your interest and attention to this community, and for your support. 9