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Home My WebLink About04-04-25 The Fresh NewsletterApril 4, 2025 Public Meetings Next Week: CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP: Tuesday, April 8, 6:30 P.M. Visit our website Join us on Nextdoor Full meeting packets and meeting minutes can be accessed here: Agendas and Minutes Our mission is to provide quality public services in a fiscally responsible manner in partnership with our community. NOTICE OF MEETING City Council Workshop Tuesday, April 8, 2025, 6:30 P.M. City of Lake Elmo | 3880 Laverne Ave. N. Lake Elmo, MN 55042 Agenda I. Call to Order II. Lake Elmo Water Issues III. Future Agenda Items IV. Adjourn Lake Elmo Lions Club The Afton Bayport Lakeland Lions Club is hosting a meeting on Wednesday, April 16, at 5:00 p.m. in the Lake Elmo Community Room at City Hall to establish a Lake Elmo Lions Club. Lake Elmo once had a Lions Club that was chartered in 1956 and operated for 65 years. However, due to declining fundraising efforts and a lack of interest, the charter was dissolved. The mission of the Lions Club is to empower Lions Clubs, volunteers, and partners to improve health and wellbeing, strengthen communities, and support those in need through humanitarian service and grants that impact lives globally and encourage peace and international understanding. Severe Weather Awareness Week April 7 - 11, 2025 Monday marks the start of Severe Weather Awareness Week in Minnesota. This week aims to refresh, remind, and educate everyone about the seasonal threats associated with severe weather and how to avoid them. It's also an excellent opportunity to create and practice your emergency plan and to build or update your emergency preparedness kit. Statewide Tornado Drills The most important events during Severe Weather Awareness Week are the two annual statewide tornado drills. In Minnesota, the 2025 statewide tornado drills are scheduled for Thursday, April 10, at 1:45 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. CDT. Monday: Alerts & Warnings; Tuesday: Severe Weather, Lightning & Hail; Wednesday: Floods; Thursday: Tornadoes; Friday: Extreme Heat. Learn More Here. Engineers Meeting Engineers University of Minnesota civil engineering students attended the City Council meeting in Lake Elmo on Tuesday to gain a deeper understanding of city development. They met with Mayor Cadenhead, City Councilor Nick Dragisich, and City Engineer Nate Stanley, all of whom are also engineers. Pictured from left to right: Mayor Carles Cadenhead, Councilor Nick Dragisich, Natalie Runquist, Ella Harris, Kaitlyn Heise, Rhiannon Wilson, and City Engineer Nate Stanley. Lake Elmo Landscape Revival Native Plant Expo & Market Mark your calendars! The 14th Annual More-Than-a-Plant Sale, part of the Landscape Revival and Native Plant Expo & Market, is scheduled for Saturday, June 7, 2025, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Rockpoint Church. Buy native plants from Minnesota growers and connect with local conservation and restoration groups to learn about pollinators, wildlife, and water quality. Important Notice - Utility Rate Change You will see an increase in your utility rates reflected on your 2025 Quarter 1 statement. In a concentrated effort to secure funding for the operations and maintenance of Lake Elmo's water treatment facilities and to place the utility funds on a more stable long-term footing- the City Council accepted the finance department’s recommendation for a rate increase in the water and sewer funds, effective with the Quarter 1 bills this April. No increases are planned for stormwater fees in 2025. Learn more about rate changes and sample calculations at Lakeelmo.gov. Local Board of Appeal and Equalization (LBAE) Meeting Tuesday, April 15 Every March, Washington County sends property owners a Valuation Notice detailing their property's assessed market value. If you disagree with the assessment and want to appeal the valuation, or want to learn more, attend the 2025 Local Board of Appeal and Equalization (LBAE) meeting on Tuesday, April 15, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Lake Elmo City Hall. To learn more, visit Washington County's website Understanding Your Property Value and Tax section. Sally Manzara Interpretive Nature Center Join our April Monthly Buckthorn Removal on Saturday, April 12, beginning at 9:30 a.m. We’re clearing spots that couldn’t be accessed with the big machines this winter. We have the tools and gloves; we just need volunteers who want to see Sunfish Lake Park buckthorn-free! Ironwood Foraging's Tim Clemens will teach two classes in April at SMINC Tim Clemens from Ironwood Foraging will be here to teach two classes: an Intro to Foraging class on Thursday, April 10, at 6:00 p.m., and an Edible Native Plant Gardening class on Tuesday, April 22, at 6:00 p.m. Each class is $45, and you will walk away with a wealth of helpful knowledge. The next Toddler Tuesday is coming up on April 15th at 10 a.m. This month’s topic is “Spring Flowers!” We’re hoping to be outside this month—but with the way April is starting, there is no guarantee! Toddler Tuesdays are for kids aged 0-5, $8 per kiddo (under one are free!) You can register on our website here. The 2025 Compost Bin and Rain Barrel Sale begins April 7. Contact Washington County Environmental Center @ 651-275-7475 or scan the QR code above. All Lake Elmo pickleball and tennis courts are now open! Visit The City of Lake Elmo for more information. Spring Load Restrictions are now in effect The Minnesota Department of Transportation, MNDOT, will start spring load restrictions in the SOUTH, SOUTHEAST, AND METRO frost zones, including Lake Elmo, on Monday, March 3, 2025, at 12:01 a.m. Lake Elmo follows MNDOT's start and end dates for the metro seasonal load limits. View the Spring Road Maps and Lake Elmo road restrictions here. Road Restrictions Cimarron Community Farm's 2025 Summer CSA Do you love fresh, organic veggies? Do you want to support your local food system? Cimarron Community Farm's 2025 Summer CSA program is now open and a perfect way for your family to eat fresh all season. 16 weeks of fresh, local, organic produce (mid-June to September.) $530 for a summer share. On-farm pick-up, Wednesdays, 4 p.m. - 7 p.m. A typical box may include fresh herbs, tomatoes, zucchini, carrots, broccoli, lettuce, kale, eggplant, onions, and more. Sign up now for our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) membership to access the best produce in town! cimarroncommunityfarm.com cimarroncommunityfarmMN@gmail.com (952) 607-0157 Lake Elmo Public Works is hiring! We are hiring seasonal maintenance staff to assist our full-time Public Works staff in maintaining and repairing our city streets and parks. This position will involve training in several areas. Work up to 40 hours per week, with an anticipated start date in May. Salary range is $18 to $19 per hour/ starting pay. Must be 16 years of age and have a valid driver's license. Apply Here BECOME A WASHINGTON COUNTY TREE STEWARD Join the Washington Conservation District and UMN to learn more about trees and how to help care for our collective urban forest! The Minnesota Tree Steward program is designed for people who love trees, enjoy being outdoors, and want to volunteer with their community. Through a partnership with the Washington Conservation District (WCD) and the University of Minnesota, you’ll learn how to care for young and newly planted trees in public spaces of Washington County. After completing the training and short assessment, you‘ll also become a certified Tree Steward Volunteer who can participate in activities under the guidance of WCD/ host site Forestry staff. To stay active, volunteers must complete 25 hours of volunteer work and/or participate in 3 tree-related volunteer events each year. Questions? Email Jessica Sahu Teli Workshop dates (Pick one): April 5th: 9am - 2 pm: Scandia Community Center April 12th: 9 am - 2 pm: Nordic Center in Lake Elmo Park Reserve. Register Here. Pothole Season is upon us A pothole is a depression or hollow in a road surface, caused by ground water and traffic. Potholes form when water seeps into tiny cracks in the road surface, usually caused by traffic. When this water freezes it expands and then when it thaws, it gets smaller. This makes the cracks larger, further weakening the road and increasing the amount of water that can get under the surface. As the road surface weakens, traffic breaks it up to create a small hole, which expands as more traffic passes over. Need some help from our public works team? Report a pothole here. 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 here. Lead Service Line Inventory Project 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://maps.umn.edu/LSL/. To complete the service line inventory, our system gathered information from building records, along with door-to-door efforts and self-verification. As of September 27, 2024, our inventory consists of 0 lead lines, two galvanized lines requiring replacement, 280 lines with unknown materials, and 3,327 non- lead service lines. You may contact the Lake Elmo Public Works Department at any time to update the tracking records. You may also contact Lake Elmo staff @ 651-747-3946. 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. 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. Private Wells and PFAS 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 | 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 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. FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM We're now on Instagram and we'd love to connect with you. Like, share and follow us for more! (see all our social media below!) Instagram City of Lake Elmo | 3880 Laverne Avenue North | Lake Elmo, MN 55042 US Unsubscribe | Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice