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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-7-25 The Fresh NewsletterFebruary 7, 2025 TI IE CITY OF LAKE ELMO res f r Weekly Source for City News and Information Public Meetings Next Week: CANCELLED: Planning Commission Meeting Monday, February 10, 6:30 p.m. City Council Workshop. Tuesday, February 11, 6:30 p.m. Visit our website Join us on Nextdoor �fl Full meeting packets and meeting minutes can be accessed here: Agendas and Minutes C•1 MARCH 2025 r is �_4770 Metro Micro operates in parts of Woodbury, Oakdale, and Lake Elmo and serves many schools, Park & Rides, clinics, and retails areas. The Woodbury area Metro Micro service is a door-to-door service that uses ADA-Accessible minibuses. Beginning in March, you can connect to the new METRO Gold Line when it begins service. Getting started is Easy! Just download the Metro micro app for your smartphone and set up an account or call 651- 602-1170 to book a ride. Your Metro micro ride must start and end in the same service area. You pick your starting point — we can pick you up at your house. You also pick your destination — we can drop you off at a bus stop, METRO station, or anywhere you request in the service area. Metro micro service operates: Weekdays: 5:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Weekends: 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Holiday hours may vary. • • • • Washington County Community Survey coming to select households this February Washington County residents should check their mailboxes in February to see if they are one of the 4,500 households randomly selected to take part in the 2025 Washington County Community Survey. This survey is a chance for residents to share their thoughts and help shape the future decisions in the county. Each of the five commissioner districts will have 900 households selected to participate. Survey results, which are statistically valid, will be shared by early summer and will inform future decision -making by county staff and commissioners. Participants can choose one of two ways to complete the survey: online or on paper. Selected households will receive a postcard with instructions on how to access the online survey, which will be available in English, Spanish, and Hmong. If preferred, a paper copy of the survey will be mailed shortly after the postcard. The survey is confidential, and no personal information will be collected or shared. If your household is selected, the county encourages you to participate and make your voice heard. What do my property taxes pay for? Property Tax Calculator The City Council adopted the 2025 Tax Levy on December 17. City Finance Dept. staff has developed a downloadable tool that estimates 2025 city taxes (not other jurisdictions) on your home and shows approximately how much of your taxes go toward each service area. Check it out at https://www.Iakeelmo.gov/departments/finance utility/property tax calculator. Enter Your Home's Taxable Market Value Approx. City Tax 11 lust start typing and this Wi;; fit! in. %of Levy 2025 Amount You Will Pay For Each City service Areo Governance, Administration • 8.5% $ 137 & Financial Mgmt • 11.1% $ 179 Community Development • 10.0% $ 161 Police & Enforcement • 11.0% $ 178 Fire & Emergency Mgmt • 8.0% $ 129 Street Maintenance • 4.7% $ 76 Park Maintenance • 33.7% $ 543 Debt Service Levies • 12.9% $ 208 Capital Levies 100% $ 1,612 APPROX. TOTAL CITY TAX Lead Service Line Inventory Project r:•nlr; SLk The City of Lake Elmo has completed and submitted its service line materials inventory to the Minnesota Department of Health. The service line inventory is publicly available, and you can check the materials for your service line by visiting the Lead Inventory Tracking Tool (LITT) at https:Hmaps.umn.edu/LSL/ you may also contact us Lake Elmo staff @ 651- 747-3946. To complete the service line inventory our system gathered information from building records along with, door to door and self verification. As on 09/27/2024, our inventory contains 0 lead, 2 galvanized requiring replacement, 280 unknown material and 3327 non -lead service lines. You may contact the Lake Elmo Public Works Department to update the tracking records at any time. Washington County Washington County names snowplows Community names two Washington County snowplows Washington County recently conducted its second annual "Name a Snowplow" contest and received more than 1,200 name ideas submitted by the public. The list was narrowed to ten finalists, including SKOL Plow, Snowby Keith, Stone Cold Steve Frostin', De - Ice Ice Baby, Mr. Clean, Land of 10,000 Flakes, Sir Plows a lot, Just Scrapin' By, Snow Problem, and Hotdish Hauler. More than 2,400 people voted to help name two of the plows. Sir Plows a lot was the top vote -getter at 680 votes with Land of 10,000 Flakes coming in a close second with 677 votes. Sir Plows a lot can be mostly seen in the northern half of the county, whereas Land of 10,000 Flakes will be located in the southern part of the county. T A A a Tree Trimming All trees and branches will be r' trimmed to the existing tree line. A 20' clearance over roads and a 7 ft clearance 20 d over sidewalk and 7' trails. sklw#Adk 11o.arvy Tree Trimming Lake Elmo Public Works Staff will be trimming trees over public sidewalks, trails and along the roadways as weather permits. Tree trimming is necessary to improve the health and appearance of trees and to lessen the interference with pedestrians, bikers and traffic. Trimming is required if trees are obstructing street lights, signs, trails, and roadways. Trees are trimmed to 20 feet over streets or curb, and 7 feet over a sidewalk or path. Staff will only be trimming trees which are in the city's right-of-way (typically 15 feet behind the curb or road edge) or impede on a city sidewalk and trail. Limbs will be cut back to the trunk of the tree and will be removed from the site. To balance the appearance of a tree staff will occasionally trim around all sides of a tree. Questions can be directed to Lake Elmo Public Works Attention — NEW Utility Billing Payment Portal We have moved to an intuitive new Utility Billing Portal called Paya. Grab your City of Lake Elmo utility account number and proceed to Paya at the link below to register, manage your account, set up autopay, or make payments. LakeElmo.PayaCP.com If Autopay isn't for you, try out the new Text -and -Pay option. If you need assistance, reach out to us at RNess@LakeElmo.gov or call 651-747- 3906. Payment Portal One -Time Payment d" Make a Payment, enroll in Auto -Pay & 8 No time to login? Make a quick, one- e-Billing, view your payment and bill time payment here. history, and more! :AKE ELMo Private Wells and PFAS Safe Drinking Water Meeting Replay is Available The City of Lake Elmo, along with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) hosted an informational meeting regarding PFAS, safe drinking water and private wells on July 25, 2024, where presentations were given by MPCA, MDH and Lake Elmo's City Engineer as well as a question and answer period for the participants. The presentation slides are available here as well as printed copies are available at City Hall. A recording of the meeting is available here. If you have questions about your private well water quality, please reach out to the MPCA. • You can request your well be tested here: https://webapp.pca.state.mn.us/gw- sampling-req/ • PFAS well sampling FAQs: PFAS Well Sampling Frequently Asked Questions (state.mn.us) • Water filtration FAQs: PFAS Water Filtration Frequently Asked Questions (state.mn.us) • MDH website about PFAS filtration PFAS and Home Treatment of Water - MN Dept. of Health (state.mn.us). • Private well sampling interactive map: Private Well Sampling in the East Metro Area (arcgis.com) • If you have questions about private well testing in the East Metro, call 651-757- 2903, or email east metro pfas private well sampling inquiries.mpca@state.mn.us • Information about PFAS from the department of health can be found Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) - MN Dept. of Health (state.mn.us) • MPCA blueprint for Minnesota and PFAS. Minnesota's PFAS Blueprint I Minnesota Pollution Control Agency(state.mn.us) • Good information to reduce your exposure to PFAS can be found Reducing Exposures: Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)-MN Dept. of Health and PFAS - SixClasses.org Please visit the City of Lake Elmo's water resources webpage to learn more at lakeelmo.gov/residents/index.php If you know someone who has concerns about their water, please forward this newsletter to them and encourage them to sign up for the FRESH HERE nv• Will Your Mailbox Survive the Winter? 0 Below are the proper installation instructions from the USPS: 1) Position your mailbox 41" to 45" from the road surface to the bottom of the mailbox or point of mail entry 2) Place your mailbox 6" to 8" back from curb. If you do not have a raised curb, contact your local post -master for guidance. 3) Put your house or apartment number on the mailbox 4)lf your mailbox is on a different street from your house or apartment, put your full street address on the box 5)lf you are attaching the box to your house, make sure the postal carrier can reach it easily from your sidewalk, steps, or porch 6) If your mailbox is physically struck by the city plow (not the weight of the snow wake) please contact public works within 72 hours to investigate the damage. City plows get as close as practical to allow for passage of traffic and mail delivery. Residents are responsible to keep piled snow away from the mailboxes. If mailbox damage is determined to be caused by a city plow making direct physical contact with a properly installed mailbox, the city will replace it with a standard size, non -decorative metal mailbox and treated wooden 4x4 post The Sally Manzara Interpretive Nature Center is open every day Visit httos.!lsminc-lake-elmo.orgl for details. �-k N �AV -/ 24Ry The Sally Manzara Interpretive Nature Center in Lake Elmo's Sunfish Lake Park is operated by a non-profit organization for the benefit of the entire community. We offer programs and o events for people of all ages and have 'adopted" the Park in P� c'Y the City's program. This work is all funded by donations_ INTERPRETIVE Thank you for your support! Here are some things happening this month at the SMINC: Our next Buckthorn Removal Day will be on Saturday, February 8"'. As always, work starts at 9.30. We have tools and gloves, and hot coffee. Bring water, snacks, and your burning desire to rid Sunfish Lake Park of Buckthorn! February's Toddler Tuesday is coming up. Join us February 11 at 10 a.m. This month's topic is -Animal Tracks.- Who has been visiting the forest this winter? Come for a little adventure outside with us to find tracks and identify what animals hang around the nature center. Toddler Tuesdays are for nature lovers aged 1 to 5. S8 per participant (kids aged 0 to 1 are free). One adult must accompany kids at all times. • And in the evening of February 11. something for the parents. Join us at 6:30 for an adult crafting night at the SMINC. This is a great way to get away from it all for a bit and relieve some stress. We'll be serving a light dinner, and will have provided craft materials. Or you can bring your own. $15 for dinner. S25 for dinner and craft materials. To sign up. visit the events calendar on our website! • We're counting birds again! Every year, the Cornell Ornithology lab and the Audubon Society partner to undertake the Great Backyard Bird Count, a citizen science initiative that employs bird lovers around world to count birds in their yard, at nature centers, in parks, or wherever their favorite birdwatching spot happens to be. That information is gathered and used to help scientists better understand bird populations, migratory habits and more. This year's Great Backyard Bird Count will be from February 14 to 17_ We will have stations set up as well as other materials to help count birds, all you have to do is stop by! Each February, the Cornell Ornithology Lab, Audubon Society and partners around the world team up with local bird watchers to perform a global bird count. People count birds in their yard, at local parks, at work —wherever their favorite bird watching spot happens to be, and then that data is collected and used to study things like bird population and migration patterns. We will have indoor stations set up for bird watching, and clipboards and checklists for easy counting. Visitors are encouraged to stop by any time during business hours and see how many birds they can count. We will submit the numbers for you! r-> `'Audubon 04SEAUXCANADA CornellLabT in part � s u4d A.* _4 d Toddler Tuesdays @ SMINC Age"; I S Toddler Tuesdays are a fun way to expose the little ones to Time: 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM outdoor and environmentally based experiences, The first hour Cost- S8 per person, including adults (children ages 1 and will be exploring the theme of the day and the last 30 minutes will be a social hour, chatting with old and new friends and under free) Sign upon our website! investigating all that the nature renter has to sharel Our Next Date: This Tear's Themes: Tuesday, December 10—Christmas in the Forest Tuesday, February 11—Mknal Tracks Tuesday, January 14—Snowflakes Who has been visiting the forest this winter? Come for a little Tuesday, February 11—Animal Tracks adventure outside with us to find tracks and identify what ani- Tuesday, March 11—talking Turtles mals hang around the nature center. Tuesday, April IS —Spring Flowers )® 651-408-2838 I •alai lnfo : smnc-lake-elmo.org I sminc4ake-elmo.org February is Random Metal Items Recycling Includes hangers, pots and pans, pipes, and auto parts. Metal items can damage the recycling sorting facility equipment and harm workers. Metals are recyclable anywhere scrap metal is collected. Recycle, Reduce, Reuse, the power is yours! Learn more at Washington County Environmental Center 'I'I IE CITY OF j_ AKE ELMO 202412025 Sign Guide CODE SECTION 105.12.430 The Lake Elmo Community Development Department is happy to share our new Sign Guide, created to help local businesses and residents understand the sign regulations in our community. This guide offers information on the types of signs allowed, size requirements, placement, and more. Whether you are a business owner looking to advertise or a resident curious about neighborhood guidelines, this is a good resource for you. Check out the Lake Elmo Sign Guide (linked here: Sign Guide) to learn more. City of Lake Elmo 1 3880 Laverne Avenue North I Lake Elmo, MN 55042 US Unsubscribe I Update Profile I Constant Contact Data Notice r1 Constant t�'J Contact Try email marketing for free today!