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HomeMy WebLinkAbout#11 - Newsletter STAFF REPORT DATE: June 18, 2024 CONSENT TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council AGENDA ITEM: Approve Summer Newsletter SUBMITTED BY: Julie Johnson, City Clerk BACKGROUND: A draft of the bi-annual City newsletter has been put together for distribution. If Council approves the draft and authorizes the printing and distribution of The Source, it will be mailed as soon as possible once it is printed and prepared for mailing. ISSUE BEFORE COUNCIL: Should the City approve and distribute a new edition of The Source for Summer 2024? PROPOSAL DETAILS/ANALYSIS: Staff recommends that the attached draft is approved, and it is authorized to be printed and distributed. FISCAL IMPACT: The estimated cost of the printing, preparation, and mailing of each edition of The Source is approximately $2,700. RECOMMENDATION: If removed from the consent agenda: “Move to approve the attached draft and to authorize the printing and distribution of The Source newsletter for the summer of 2024.” ATTACHMENTS: • Draft of The Source for summer 2024 Park Updates The City of Lake Elmo has an extensive system of parks and trails that provide a wide range of outdoor recreation opportunities. City staff, in conjunction with the Parks Commission and City Council have been working on a number of improvements to city parks, including the addition of a dog park. Summer 2024 3880 Laverne Avenue North - Lake Elmo, MN 55042 (651) 747-3900 Improvements to the Reid Park Baseball Field were completed this spring. Thanks to a $35,000 donation from the Lake Elmo Baseball Association, the baseball field was upgraded. The donation funds were used to install all new fencing, backstop, dugouts and extension of the infield. Tablyn and Pebble Park Courts are finished!!! The reconstruction of two separate playing surfaces are complete and available for use. The city has added 4 pickle ball and 1 tennis court at our Pebble Park location and added 6 pickle ball courts and 1 tennis court at Pebble Park. Elmo’s Pup Park opened in June!!! City staff has worked on updating a newly constructed dog park located at 4259 JAMACA Over the winter staff worked on preparing and updating the trails throughout Demontreville Wildlife park. These trails are open to the public throughout the year and will be groomed as part of our 2024-25 ski trail grant. Out with the old and in with the new!!! Pebble Park and Demontreville Park will get new playground sets installed this fall. Construction on the new playsets is scheduled for September 2024. The City of Lake Elmo was awarded a 2024 Living Healthy Washington County grant. This grant allowed the city to install two additional bike repair stations in the community after survey results from 2023 showed biking is the second highest means to visit a city park within Lake Elmo. These bike stations were placed near the trail entrance at Demontreville Wildlife Park and Reid Park. www.lakeelmo.gov Summer 2024 Permanent Watering Restrictions. Knowing we must continue to take efforts to reduce our water usage since we are well above state goals and see our water usage increase nearly 600% in the summer, the City Council adopted a new permanent water use restriction for irrigation use. New code, effective May 19, 2023, limits irrigation to two days per week. No watering is allowed any day of the week between 5 am and 5pm. Attended hand-watering of plants, shrubs, trees, and gardens is allowed and not required to follow this schedule. You can find out which two days you are allowed to water by visiting the city’s website at www.lakeelmo.org . The city has been divided into four zones split north/south along CSAH 14 (34th St./Stillwater Blvd) and east/west along CSAH 17(Lake Elmo Ave). Summer 2024 Thank you to our 2024 Lions Park Sign Sponsors The vintage style signs posted on the outfield fencing at Lions Park help support projects at Lions Park such as backstop improvements and a 45th parallel marker. This year we have 19 new and renewing sponsors: Aaron Runk – State Farm Insurance Krueger Tree Farm Apex Construction, Inc. Lake Elmo Bank Bolton & Menk Lake Elmo Baseball Capra’s Utilities, Inc. Lake Elmo Rotary Club Carvelli Plumbing ShaneCon, Inc. Dan Stoudt - State Farm Insurance Stoudt Law, Ltd. Hagberg’s Country Market Tiffhanie Zheng – Guardians Real Estate Group Krinkie Heating & Air Conditioning Zignego Agency City Drinking Water Supply Well #2 PFAS test results from the Minnesota Department of Health continue to show PFAS slowly increasing in Lake Elmo wells. Well number 2 PFAS test results exceed the new EPA guidelines of 4 parts per trillion that will become an enforceable standard in 2027. To address this issue, the use of Well 2 has been throttled back and has only been used on a limited, emergency basis. In 2023, Well 2 was only used during the 2023 irrigation season, averaging a run time of less than 2.5 hours per day on less than ten days across the irrigation season. With Well 2 impacted by PFAS, the City is working with the MDH and MPCA to install an Anion Exchange Resin (IX) treatment filter system at Well 2 with the treatment system to be online prior to the 2025 irrigation season. Once installed, the City will be able to resume full production use of the well following the removal of the PFAS. Summer 2024 Lake Elmo Public Safety Recreational Fires and Open Burning Permits Recreational fires continue to be a great way to gather and enjoy the summer weather in Lake Elmo. Hosting a recreational fire on your property comes with a certain level of responsibility. Be a good neighbor and consider the wind speed and direction of smoke before starting the fire. Consider knocking on your neighbor’s door to let them know ahead of time that you will be burning. This drastically reduces the number of nuisance calls made to 911 regarding smoke. Keep the size of the fire to a limited 3x3x3. Three feet wide, three feet tall, and nothing larger than three inches in diameter is to be burned. Remember, recreational fires do not include burning leaves or yard waste! If the fire gets out of hand don’t wait or hesitate, call 911 immediately. Open burning permits are required for large scale burning. Permits are issued only after an inspection is performed on site to ensure safe practices are being followed. City Ordinance only permits the burning of dead/diseased vegetation, bee hives, ground thawing, and prairie restoration. A variance can be issued for special burning, such as storm debris. Paid-On-Call Firefighter Recruitment The Lake Elmo Fire Department has served the City of Lake Elmo providing Fire, Rescue, and Emergency Medical services since 1957 and continues to provide exceptional service to 14,000 + residents and visitors alike. Since 1957, the department has changed in many ways, but one factor remains constant and that is the need for Paid-On-Call (POC) Firefighters to serve our community. Staffing Our fire department is staffed with a combination of Full Time and POC Firefighters, both of which are trained to the same standard and provide a consistent level of service to our community. Our full-time staff work around the clock, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. POC Firefighters play an important role in emergency services by supporting the career staff on duty crew and at large scale incidents. Our POC firefighters are required to fulfill a minimum number of shift hours as part of our Duty Crew program. These are work shifts where we staff the station with a POC firefighter to work alongside our career staff as a crew of three. A shift bid occurs prior to each quarter and you are able to select from a number of available shifts. The Duty Crew program allows our staff to structure their time with the fire department. Emergency Response POC Firefighters carry a pager and utilize emergency applications on their phones to be alerted to the need to respond to an emergency. In most cases, when a duty crew is available, the incident can be handled without the need to call back all of our off duty and POC staff. However, there are incidents that require the need for a large staff response or multiple incidents which the POC Firefighters are needed to respond. In 2024, the department is predicted to respond to approximately 1,200 calls for service. Training Initially, all new Firefighters (Probationary) are required to attend a fire academy to gain all the basic skills related to firefighting and emergency medical services. The academy is typically two nights a week and some Saturdays. The initial required training takes approximately 9 months. All costs associated with the training and equipment needed are covered by the fire department and you will be paid hourly for your time at the academy. Those with current fire and EMS certifications may be allowed to bypass the academy and are encouraged to apply. As a whole, the department meets most Monday nights for training and meetings. Department Requirements After successfully completing the probationary period, a firefighter is required to maintain a certain level of commitment to the department. It should be made clear, that a POC Firefighter must show the desire to be part of the organization. A personal drive to want to be involved is necessary for a member to succeed in our department. Formally, the requirements for employment and to be considered in good standing are: maintain an average of 25% of the incidents dispatched as a callback, maintain a commitment to the attendance of weekly drills and meetings, attend extra events such as National Night Out, and participate in the Duty Crew program meeting a minimum of shift hours each quarter. Summer 2024 Water Rebate Program The City of Lake Elmo, in partnership with the Metropolitan Council, is offering rebates for new installations of water saving devices. With numerous water supply issues, there has never been a better time to improve our water conservation efforts. Water utility customers in Lake Elmo are eligible for up to $200 for installing Smart Irrigation Controllers and up to $500 for an irrigation audit. Rebates are also available for the replacement of washing machines up to $150 and $100 per EPA WaterSense toilet. Purchase and install a qualifying device and submit a completed rebate form with a copy of your reciept. Upon approval, a credit will be applied to your water account. Applications and additional information are available on the City’s website. 2023 Consumer Confidence Report Now Available The 2022 Lake Elmo Consumer Confidence Report is now available. The full 2023 report along with the reports from past year can be found by visiting the Water and Sewer Utility page under the Public Works & Engineering tab on the City’s website at www.lakeelmo.gov. Hard copies of the report can be requested at City Hall, 3880 Laverne Avenue N. NEW Online Utility Payment Portal In an effort to better serve our community, the City has implemented a new online utility account management and payment system, called PAYA. It offers a more user-friendly, intuitive way to manage your accounts, schedule payments, and reach out to your favorite city utility employee. To get started, gather your account number and go to the new website at https://lakeelmo.payacp.com/ For assistance call 651-747-3906 or email us at RNess@LakeElmo.gov. Note: The former utility payment platform, PSN, will be discontinued at the end of June 2024. You will be unable to access PSN and any future autopayments will not process. Please register with Paya to manage your accounts and avoid late payment fees. Summer 2024 2024 STREET AND UTILITY PROJECTS IN CONSTRUCTION Each year the City implements capital improvement projects to update and maintain the public street and utility systems. Additional details and construction updates can be found of the City website under Public Works & Engineering / Construction Projects. In 2024, the City will be making the following capital improvements: 2024 Street and Utility Improvements for Residential Neighborhoods: •Street rehabilitation and partial curb replacement in the Carriage Station neighborhood. •Street rehabilitation along Jamaca Court along with the replacement of the existing watermain. 2024 Collector Street Improvements: •Rehabilitation of Hudson Boulevard, from Inwood Avenue (CSAH 13) to just west of Julia Avenue, along with a new trail along the north boulevard. •Rehabilitation of 15th Street, from Inwood Avenue (CSAH 13) to the Oakdale/Lake Elmo City limits. •Rehabilitation of 30th Street, from Lisbon Avenue to Village Parkway. 2024 Water Distribution System Improvements: •Installation of a new trunk water transmission main along Stillwater Boulevard (CSAH 14), from the Jamaca Avenue to Klondike Avenue. 2024 PREVENTATIVE STREET MAITNENIANCE Preventative street maintenance will be completed again in 2024 and will include the street segments shown on the attached map exhibit. The annual Preventive Street Maintenance Program employs a cost-effective approach for street repairs to extend the life expectancy of the pavements and includes crack sealing and seal coating existing pavement surfaces. The City of Lake Elmo has updated to a .gov domain. Council and city staff emails have been updated and you will now find our website at www.lakeelmo.gov. Using a .gov domain gives the public confidence that they are connecting to an authentic site with enhanced security. .gov domains are only available to official U.S. based government organizations and publicly controlled entities though a rigorous vetting process. Websites ending in.gov are protected by a range of security tools including multi-factor authentication and HTTPS connection at all times. Summer 2024 National Night Out 2024 National Night Out will be held once again Tuesday, August 6th from 6-8 PM at Lion’s Park downtown. This is a great opportunity for everyone including residents, businesses, and public services to join together as one city. Last year nearly 50 businesses and organizations participated in the event. We had an incredible turnout last year and hope to do so again. Look for updates on the City website, social media, and the FRESH E-newsletter for how you can get involved. The City of Lake Elmo is seeking volunteers for the Adopt-A-Park Program. The program is intended to make parks more appealing through general spring, summer and fall clean-up to remove debris, maintain flowers, and manage weeds. All materials are provided by the City and coordinated through Public Works. Adopt-A-Park is a program for volunteers who are interested in cleaning up Lake Elmo’s parks and is an excellent way for residents and organizations to make a personal contribution to the community. The program is open to individuals, families, groups, religious organizations, service organizations, schools, businesses, and other community organizations, adoption terms are for 2 years. Welcome City Administrator Nicole Miller The City of Lake Elmo is pleased to announce the appointment of Nicole Miller as the new City Administrator. Miller has over fifteen years of experience in state and local government and most recently as Assistant City Manager in St. Anthony where she dedicated nine years of service. During her tenure at St. Anthony, she had the opportunity to work with and across all departments that made up the full-service city. Miller led the communications, community development, City Clerk and Human Resources functions. Miller lives in Wyoming, Minnesota with her husband and three children. She holds a master’s degree in public administration from Hamline University and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Metropolitan State University. Miller’s first day with the City was on June 3rd. Summer 2024 3880 Laverne Ave. N. Lake Elmo, MN 55042 PRSTD STD US POSTAGE PAID LAKE ELMO, MN POSTAL PATRON LAKE ELMO MN 55042 The City is on Nextdoor! In an effort to reach as much of the com- munity as possible we’ve joined Nextdoor to post important updates for residents. Mayor Charles Cadenhead Council Katrina Beckstrom Nick Dragisich Matt Hirn Jeff Holtz City Administrator Nicole Miller Public Works Contact Info: Public Works: 651-747-3940 Emergency: Monday – Thursday: 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Friday – 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon City Hall: 651-747-3900 All other hours and weekends, Washington County Dispatch: 651-439-9381 A publication of the City of Lake Elmo 3880 Laverne Avenue North Lake Elmo, MN 55042 • 651-747-3900 www.lakeelmo.gov Follow us on Facebook! Facebook.com/LakeElmoMN PERMIT NO. 19