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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002 October Newsletter October 2002 YOUR CITY R R T EP10 . HUGO CITY HALL, 14669 FITZGERALD AVENUE NORTH HUGO, MN 55038 651-762-6300 CITY HALL GRAND OPENING HUGO HISTORICAL COMMITTEE The City of Hugo is proud to announce a Grand Opening Celebration for the new PRESERVES CITY'S City Hall, which will be held on Wednesday, October 23 from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. HISTORY The entire City Hall project is now complete, and all Hugo residents are encour- aged to attend the grand opening, where they can take staff-guided tours of both The Hugo Historical Committee, a the new building and the landscaping. Mayor Fran Miron comments, "We want group of ten Hugo residents interest- the public to have an opportunity to see the completed building that's going to ed in preserving and documenting the serve them for years to come." He adds, "It has set the tone for development and history of the City of Hugo, has been redevelopment within the community." meeting since July 2002. Kitty Cheesebrow, Interim Chair of the Frank Puleo, one of the City Council members involved in overseeing the land- Committee, moved to Hugo two scaping, is pleased with the rural, "north woods" atmosphere that has been years ago. "I was interested in learn- achieved. He makes special mention of the illuminated waterfall that flows into a ing about the history of the City, and small rocky stream, the bridge that extends into one of the City Hall entrances, the I discovered that there were no formal extension of Hardwood Creek Trail, and the inclusion of Norway and Ponderosa records of Hugo's history, " she pine trees, maples, oaks, and river birch trees. "We've achieved the natural setting explains. "And with the enormous we wanted," notes Puleo, "and at the same time we were able to accomplish inno- changes being projected in the next vative storm water management, where the water remains on site and there is no 20 years, it seemed like the history runoff." could be lost very easily." The new City Hall incorporates numerous innovative storm water management The Historical Committee is current- practices. Natural Resource Specialist Jason Naber of Emmons & Olivier ly pursuing status as a City Resources,who designed the storm Commission, which would take its water management system, states, The City of Hugo would like to extend direction from and be funded by the "Most notable are the three rain special thanks to the following companies City. "Our goal is to put our propo- gardens which are designed to col- and individuals for their contributions to sition before the City by the end of lect all the runoff from the site and the City Hall landscaping: this year," Cheesebrow states, "and to half of the parking lot." Other fea- Council Member Frank Puleo have a budget established for 2003." . • tures of the site include parking lot • Council Member Mike Granger islands with engineered infiltration • Bever&Sons Landscaping Cheesebrow explains that the E trenches and a rain barrel along the • Southview Design Committee is still getting organized, building to capture roof runoff and • Arnt Construction but several possible projects have been store water to be used for the • Hugo City Hall Garden Club: discussed, including a photo history stream and for landscape watering. Carolyn Kaye, June Young, Mickey of Hugo buildings, and histories of Ekstrand and Sydney Harrison Continued on Next Page Continued on Next Page GRAND OPENING HISTORICAL PRESERVATION Continued from Page 1 Continued From Page I The Rice Creek Watershed District (RCWD) was very involved in the design of City government, schools, original the City Hall landscaping plan and provided $48,000 worth of funding for the settlers, and Good Neighbor Days. project. Another$50,000 was provided by a grant from the Metropolitan Council. They envision eventually publishing RCWD is a government agency charged with handling all water resource issues in all of their information into a book the 200 square mile area including Hennepin, Anoka, Ramsey, and Washington that would be available to Hugo resi- Counties, RCWD is committed to promoting new storm water management alter- dents. They also hope to establish a natives that allow as much of the runoff water as possible to soak back into the soil central archive at City Hall. on site, rather than draining through pipes and eventually into a lake or creek. The Committee has already been RCWD District Administrator Steve Hobbs explains that the Hugo City Hall rain contacted by many City residents gardens are really just a set of depressions in the ground in which native plants with eager to share their stories, as well as long roots are planted into an appropriate type of soil, allowing the water to per- their photographs, documents, and colate through the soil and through the roots. He adds that the rain gardens accom- other memorabilia, and they encour- plish three desirable goals: decreasing pollutants (the bacteria in the soil breaks age anyone with historical informa- them down), decreasing flooding, and helping to recharge groundwater. Hobbs tion about Hugo to contact the also notes, "An additional feature of this system is that it creates a habitat for Committee. New members are migrating birds and native species and helps to restore some of the native vegeta- always welcome. Committee meet- tion, such as prairie plants, that we've lost here in Minnesota." ings are held on the second Tuesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in the Rice Hobbs states that the rain gardens have already worked very well, "especially con- Lake Park Building. sidering the incredibly wet summer we've had," and indicates that RCWD will continue to monitor the Hugo City Hall site. He praised Hugo City officials for For more information about sharing being open-minded and willing to work with RCWD on such an innovative pro- your story or joining the Hugo ject and calls it a "shining example" of what can be done. Naber also speaks favor- Historical Committee, contact Kitty ably about the City Hall site, noting that the City "incorporated the rain gardens Cheesebrow at 651-429-6560, or by into an artistically designed site that exemplifies how alternative storm water man- e-mail at kitty@visi.com. agement practices can complement a site's landscaping plan." REMEMBER TO RECYCLE. Each year we recycle about 70 percent of the aluminum cans we use, resulting in nearly 120 million cans being recycled every REMEMBER minute nationwide. A recycled aluminum can returns to store TO VOTE shelves as a new can within 60 to 90 days. NOVEMBER 5 a In Hugo, items for recycling are collected curbside as part of your weekly trash Ward 1: Hugo Fire Hall collection. A recycling container is available from your garbage hauler or by calling City Hall at 651-762-6300. Those items which can be recycled (South Entrance) include newspapers, aluminum beverage cans, tin cans, glass jars and bottles, Ward 2: Hugo City Hall corrugated cardboard, glossy magazines, junk mail, boxboard (such as cereal Ward 3: Rice Lake Park Bldg. boxes), #1 and#2 plastic bottles, and car and tractor batteries. 2 PUBLIC WORKS NEWS NEW PUBLIC HUGO PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT TO WORKS BEGIN SNOW PLOWING EMPLOYEES All snow plowing in Hugo was formerly done by the Washington County Highway HIRED Department. However, beginning this year, the City of Hugo's Public Works Department will take over two of the three major truck routes for snow plowing in Two new Public Works workers the City. "We will also be adding a route that will use a motor grader and anoth- have recently been hired by the er route that will be plowed using a smaller, one-ton pick-up truck," notes Public City of Hugo. Mike Loeffler and Works Director Chris Petree. Rob Weldon started on August 5 and will be performing a variety Petree is confident that the City will be able to meet or exceed the snow plowing of duties for the Public Works service level residents have enjoyed in the past. "We want to provide the residents Department, including mainte- of Hugo with the same level of service they've grown to expect from Washington nance of streets, water and sewer County," he states, "but we ask that residents understand that it may take some systems, parks, buildings, and time to phase into our new system." grounds. Both are experienced workers: Loeffler formerly DON'T PLACE SNOW ON PUBLIC ROADWAYS worked for a private excavating company, and Weldon was With winter quickly approaching, the City of Hugo would like to remind every- employed by the Public Works one that it is against the law to deposit snow, in any fashion, on or next to a pub- Department of another city in lic highway or street. Minnesota State Statute 160.27 prohibits plowing, shovel- the Twin Cities area. ing, blowing or otherwise placing snow onto any public road right-of-way, and doing so is punishable as a misdemeanor. Snow which is moved to the public The Hugo Public Works right-of-way can create hazardous situations,'' including slippery areas, frozen ruts Department now has four full- and ridges, bumps,sight obstructions and drainage problems. Property owners are time employees, and there are responsible for informing any person who performs snow removal on their premis- plans for more hiring in the es of this law. It is also important to remember that both the property owner and future. Reasons cited by Public the person who moved the snow onto the roadway may be liable should an acci- Works Director Chris Petree for dent occur as a result of improper snow placement. Ifyou have questions about snow the growth of the Department removal or would like a copy of the City's Snow and Ice Control Policy, call the Public include an increased need to Works Department at 651-762-6300. maintain infrastructure as a result of building and develop- ment within the City, the addi- tion of park land, and the fact " CHANGE YOUR that Washington County will no longer be providing street ser- SMO DETECTOR Cvices such as snow plowing and BATTERIES road grading. "We essentially started from nothing and are building a Public Works Hugo Fire Chief Jim Compton reminds all residents to change the batteries in Department from the ground their smoke detectors when they set their clocks back this fall. up," explains Petree. 3 AMERICAN LEGION REBUILDING CITY PROJECT PLANS UNDERWAY UPDATE from Brian Mitchell, At its September 16 meeting, the Hugo City Council authorized a purchase agree- Engineering Inspector ment to sell one acre of land in the Bald Eagle Industrial Park (BEIP) to the Hugo American Legion Post 620 to construct a new building. The site is located on the Production Wells. Well No. 4 is now north end of BEIP on 140th Street between the Hugo Fire Hall and Rick's Liquor approximately 90% complete. The Store. The American Legion's former building, at 5736 147th Street North, was building is in place and the contractor destroyed in a fire on July 16. The remains of the building have been demolished, is working on installing miscellaneous and the property is currently being prepared for sale. components of the production sys- tem. The well house is scheduled to Post 620 Commander John Thomas notes that the new site will offer more visibil- begin operation around mid- ity, more adequate parking, and the opportunity for a larger building. The plan November. As stated in the June calls for a one-story 7,500 square foot building that will be handicapped accessible newsletter, this well will allow the and include banquet facilities for up to 300 people. The Legion is hoping to break City's water supply system to catch up ground on the new building this fall. with the current demand. At an emergency meeting held on July 22, the Hugo City Council created a spe- Water Tower. The contractor has cial American Legion Building Committee to assist the Legion in its rebuilding completed construction, painting, efforts. "We met with Legion officials immediately after the fire and offered the and hoisting of the water storage tank City's support," states Council Member Mike Granger, a member of the commit- and is now in the process of connect- tee. "We helped them to acquire a piece of land in Hugo, and we will work with ing the feeder main to the water them to find the best use for their existing property and maximize their return on tower. This is the water supply line its sale." Proceeds from the sale of this property will help defer the cost of the new that will provide the tank water for site and building. storage. Remaining work consists of installing access doors, construction "The City has been very cooperative and helpful," notes Thomas. "They worked of the second floor storage area, and with us to come up with a fair price for the land, City officials made themselves miscellaneous site restoration items. available for special meetings with us, and they have offered us the use of the The contractor remains on schedule Oneka Room at City Hall for our annual Veteran's Day dinner in November." with a completion date set for the end of October. Until the new facility is available, Post 620 will continue to have its monthly meetings at the US Bank, and the AMERICAN LEGION Auxiliary will meet at the Blacksmith REBUILDING FUND Lounge. For any further information regarding Hugo's American Legion Although the American Legion building was insured, the entire cost of rebuild- Post 620, contact Commander John ing will not be covered. A rebuilding fund has been established for anyone who Thomas at 651-439-6849. wishes to contribute to help Post 620 rebuild. Please send donations to: 1 � Hugo American Legion Rebuilding Fund P.O. Box 371 Hugo, MN 55038 4 Dear Citizens of Hugo: On November 5, 2002, Hugo residents will decide on a very important referendum issue. First, at no cost to tax- payers, is an opportunity to vote to increase our on-sale liquor licenses. The additional on-sale licenses will provide an opportunity to expand our food and beverage industry to include new restaurants. It is important to remember that every commercial tax dollar earned today is one residential tax dollar that does not have to be spent tomorrow. The Hugo City Council believes that this referendum is an important effort to expand the food and beverage industry in Hugo. We encourage you to vote "YES" on this referendum. On-Sale Liquor License SAMPLE ELECTION BALLOT Referendum CITY OF HUGO WASHINGTON COUNTY 'No cost to Taxpayers FF MINNESOTA On-sale liquor licenses are issued to establish- Q YES "Shall the City Council be allowed to ments where liquor is sold and consumed on issue six `On-sale' licenses for n the sale Of intoxicating the premises such as hotels, restaurants, g liquor at retail in bowling centers, etc. Minnesota State excess of the number now Statute 340A.413 places restrictions on the by law?" permitted number of on-sale liquor licenses that may 0 NO be issued to cities. INSTRUCTION TO VOTERS In 1973, the number of allowable on-sale liquor licenses was established by state ff YOU Wish to,vote in favor o p Proposition, f///in the ova/be the above statute to its resent number of six. The YES.„�f YOU fore the word proposed liquor license referendum would above proposition.,!'�/sh to vote against the increase the total number of on-sale liquor word "NO, fill in the oval before th licenses the City can issue to twelve. e As the City continues to develop, the num- ber of requests for liquor licenses from businesses will increase. In the first six months of 2002, the City received requests for a liquor license from two food and beverage establishments. The City had to turn the potential economic growth away because all six licenses were issued. The City receives approximately $1,600 from each establishment for license fees plus property tax revenue. It is esti- mated that a restaurant generates about $25,000 a year in property taxes. Currently, the City has no on-sale liquor licenses available. Questions about the On-Sale Liquor License Referendum? Please call City Clerk Mary Ann Creager at 651-762-6311. 5 ATTENTION CITY OF HUGO SNOWMOBILE USERS LOOKING TO FOLLOW THE SNOWMOBILE RULES ACQUIRE Snowmobile operators preparing to hit the trails need to be aware of the following LAND FOR regulations that govern snowmobile use in Hugo: PARKS 1) You may ride on City streets to access the trail. You are allowed to ride in ditch The City of Hugo would like to bottoms or the outside slopes of county and state highways. acquire land for neighborhood parks, 2) One-half hour past sunset and while riding on local streets, you must stay on active recreational areas, and open the right edge following traffic. spaces. "We are primarily interested 3) No studs or metal traction devices may be used on the Hardwood Creek Trail. in land located in the central portion If you have studs, you must stay on the west side of the trail away from the of the City," explains Community paved portion. Development Director John Rask, 4) County Road S from Goodview to the Anoka County line is closed "but we wouldn't rule out any parcel to snowmobiles and ATVs. of 20 to 100 acres suitable for active recreation purposes. The City's goal is to protect everyone's safety. Please contact the Hugo City Hall at 651-762-6300 for a Funds for purchasing this land would copy of the complete snowmobile ordinance. come from the City's park dedication fund, which is obtained from new development in the City. A $1,700 NEWS FROM THE HUGO fee is collected and deposited into this SN �If M B' fund when new residential lots are O OLECLUB created. Anyone who is interested in selling land to the City of Hugo is The Hugo Snowmobile Club is a group of about 20 volunteers who maintain asked to contact City Administrator and groom 21 miles of snowmobile trail in Hugo and six miles of trail in Mike Ericson at City Hall or Parks Forest Lake. They are also members of the Washington County Star Trail Commission member Pete Pedersen Association, which provides them with the equipment needed to groom the at 651-426-4126. trails. While they are considering other activities for the future, such as "radar runs," their current focus is on maintaining the trails. John Udstuen, president of the club, explains, "This is a working club, and everyone is a volunteer. When we run the groomer and mark the trails, it's ' something that we're doing for the love of the sport." Udstuen is also very _- pleased with the cooperation the club has received from the current City staff and Council. "The people from the City have been fantastic," he states. "We thoroughly respect them, and we're honored to work with them." If you would like more information about the Hugo Snowmobile Club or are interested in joining, please contact John Udstuen at 651-653-2006. 6 HERE IS WHArS N"PENING 0,N-7ffFi;.11. I't �k C S M 1; Adak IMPROVEME M&ANOWN Washington County,Anoka County, the Cities of Hugo and noise readings, which will be used to estimate existing and Lino Lakes, along with their consultant TKDA, are con- future noise levels on the three alignment alternatives. ducting a study of the County State Aid Highway (CSAH) 8/14 corridor between Interstate 35E (I-35E) and Trunk A cultural resources investigation is being done to determine Highway (TH) 61. Proposed improvements for this major whether the project area contains cultural resources that may east-west connection to 1-35E include expanding to four be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic lanes and adding turn lanes, a center median, a pedestri- Places (NRNP). Phase I of the study consisted of reviewing an/bicycle path, and new drainage systems. all structures for architectural and/or historical significance and performing an archaeological survey. Phase II is now The process includes a technical analysis side and a public underway to further study four potential archaeological sites involvement side that are being done concur- and St. John the Baptist Catholic rently. Three public informational meet- Church and Cemetery. ings have been held to date. Four align- ment alternatives were chosen to be Many residents within the project evaluated as a result of the first area have been contacted for access to public meeting: 140th Street, their properties to obtain informa- 142nd Street, 145th Street tion for the wetland, noise, and cul- . (existing) and 147th Street. The Lural resources studies. John Rask, 140th Street alignment was Hugo Community Development eliminated from further study Director stated, "The project team because of environmental appreciates the cooperation that we impacts, right-of-way and con- have received from the residents." struction costs, and travel patterns. The 142nd Street, 145th Street, and 147th Street alignments are moving for- When the EA is completed, it will be distributed for public ward for further analysis in an Environmental Assessment review and comment in December. A combined public (EA). The EA includes an in-depth study of potential social, information meeting/public hearing is tentatively scheduled environmental, and economic issues. for January 2003 to present the final information and obtain comments on the information contained in the EA. Shortly It may not appear that much is happening on this project, after that meeting, the preferred alternative will be selected but the project team is working hard to complete the EA. As and move forward for detail design. part of the study, consultant firms have been conducting wetland, noise, and cultural resources field work. You may For more information on this project, visit the Washington County have seen these firms out in the project area. All wetlands website at www.co.washington.mn.us/trnsphdv/projects.htm or within the project study area were delineated. Noise moni- contact Chris Manthey, Design Coordinator, at 651-430-4316 toring equipment was set up in selected locations to obtain 7 HUGOBULK RATE OF YOUR CITY REPORT POSTAGE PAID 14669 Fitzgerald Avenue North HUGO,MN 55038 Hugo, MN 55038 PERMIT NO.21 OCCUPANT IN THIS ISSUE. . . • City Hall Grand Opening • Liquor License Referendum • Snowmobile News and Information Visit our website! www.ci.hugo. mn. us City Staff Service City Administrator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mike Ericson Community Development Director. . . . . . . . . . . . .John Rask Directory Public Works Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Chris Petree Public Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Tom Smith Building Official . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .John Benson City Hall General Information Building Inspector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Gary Schwartz 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. City Clerk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mary Ann Creager Monday—Friday except holidays CommunityDevelopment Assistant. Michele Lindau 651-762-6300 p . . . . . . . . . . . Deputy Clerk/Receptionist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Renee Cunningham Billing Clerk/Receptionist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jodie Guareschi City Hall FAX Number Finance Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ron Otkin 651-426-2859 Fire Chief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jim Compton Washington County City Council Sheriffs Department i Mayor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Fran Miron 651-429-5961 (Police non-emergency) 651-439-9381 Ward 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Becky Petryk 651-426-4722 Ward 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Frank Puleo 651-653-3736 • Ward 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Chuck Haas 651-439-4475 Fire Hall (Non-emergency) Council at Large . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Mike Granger 651-426-8171 651-429-6366 Monthly Meeting Schedule Fire & Police City Council . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1st and 3rd Mondays at 7:00 p.m. Emergency Planning Commission . . . . . . . . . . . . .2nd and 4th Thursdays at 7:00 p.m. 911 Parks Commission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2nd Wednesday at 6:30 pm Visit our website ! www . ci . hugo . mn . us