2017 Administration Department Annual Report

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2017 Annual Report • Administration • St. Anthony Village, Minnesota 44 successfully engaged in informal negotiations with representatives of Comcast, and all nine member cities approved a new 10-year cable franchise with the company before the end of the year. As a result, the formal franchise renewal process was dismissed. In addition, the Commission continued to monitor the deployment of cable services by CenturyLink. Meanwhile, anticipating the new franchise with Comcast that will result in less financial support beginning in 2018, the NSAC Board of Directors continued a strategic planning process for CTV North Suburbs and initiated an executive transition/executive search that is expected to conclude by the middle of 2018. Sister Cities St. Anthony’s Sister City, Salo Finland, is the hometown of Finnish President Sauli Niinistö. In September, as part of a commemoration of Finland’s centennial, Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and First Lady Jenni Haukio came to Minnesota. Past and current St. Anthony Sister City board members were honored to be part of a private reception with President Niinistö, First Lady Haukio and other visiting dignitaries. (Historical note: In the Spring of 1992, the St. Anthony City Council and community members welcomed visiting Niinistö, then a member of the Finnish Parliament.) As part of a multi-year project, the Sister City commissioned a narrated orchestral piece, The Lost Melody, to honor our 30 plus year relationship with Salo, Finland. In 2017, composer Olli Kortekangas finished the composition based around a story by Eeva Tikka. In November, as part of the St. Anthony Civic Orchestra’s Finland 100 concert, the orchestra, with narrator Kathleen Humphrey, premiered The Lost Melody. As part of this community celebration the St. Anthony Village High School Chamber Choir sang a selection of pieces and joined the orchestra in the concert finale: a performance of Jean Sibelius’ Finlandia.