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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1977 Edition 16 November y BROo CIT O N CENTER /REPORT* MANAGER'S N OVEMBER, 1977 NO. 16 Gerald Splinter Selected As New City Manager director of the Metropolitan Sports Fa- Gerald Splinter, City Manager of cilities Commission. North St. Paul, has been named as the Splinter was selected from four fi- new Brooklyn Center Manager by the nalists, including Acting Manager Jim City Council replacing Don Poss who re- Merila, who is the City's Public Works signed in June to become the executive Director. The finalists were recom- mended after 112 applications were re- viewed by the City's consultant, Loren L. Law and Associates. Other finalists were Terry Zerkle, manager of Wheeling, City C Illinois; and Charles McClain, manager of Flagstaff, Arizona. Considering received was born g Wisconsin, and a Masters Degree in public ad- ministration from the University of Iowa. Open Forum He became administrative assistant to GERALD SPLINTER the City Manager at Ames, Iowa, before Photo Courtesy of Brooklyn Center Post moving in 1965 to the Twin Cities area The Brooklyn Center City Coun- to become assistant manager in St. Louis cil is considering implementing an Park. He also served as the clerk admin- Taxes May "Open Forum" to istrator for the Village of Plymouth from p give any resi 1966 to 1969 before becoming manager Be Reduced dent the opportunity to address at North St. Paul. the City Council as a whole, and comment on any opinion, problem, At North St. Paul, Splinter was re- A general estimate by the City Asses - concern or complaint that is relevant sponsible for the development of a mo- sor places the 1977 -78 taxable valuation to the affairs of this local govern- dern zoning and subdivision ordinance; of Brooklyn Center property at ment and its policies and practices. the completion of a 10 -year program of $123,042,022. The Open Forum is not designed street and sewer capital improvements; New assessing rules and the impact of to supplant other means of com- the development of two major parks, the Fiscal Disparities Law, which requires munication such as direct contact and the completion of a five -year park area -wide sharing of industrial - with members of the Council, the improvement program. commercial tax base increases, do not City Manager, City Department He was also involved in the establish- allow a precise determination of taxable value at this point. ment of a personnel ordinance and em- heads, or City staff. Some of the changes in the 1977 Use of these other means of organs evaluation program, and the re- Omnibus Tax Bill shift portion of the organization of the public works depart- P communication are encouraged by ment. overall property tax burden from the the City of Brooklyn Center. It is residential homesteads to other classes of not the intent of the City ouncil Splinter is also a member of several y professional organizations in his field, Property. This change creates a situation that the Open Forum be used to air and has actively served as a member of where the mill rate increases, but the personality grievances or for politi actual taxes on residential homestead ai n ur- cal endorsement or cam several groups including the Suburban campaign p Rate Authority, the Northeast Area Property may decrease. poses. The tax amount may be further re- Chamber of Commerce and the North- duced according to the "circuit breaker" The City Council would hear east Area Learning Center for Retarded feature, which entitles many home each person wishing to address them, Children. but would not be expected to take Splinter, who will receive an annual owners to a tax rebate if the tax ex- any immediate action regarding salary of $34,000, has to move to Brook - ceeds a certain percentage of annual in- items or issues raised. come. lyn Center within 12 months. He is Included in this publication is married and has three children. a questionnaire seeking the opinion Acting City Manager Merila concluded * Citizen inquiries and requests may of the residents concerning the best his duties October 17, and will remain be directed at the City Administra- time to conduct the Open Forum. with the City in his present capacity as tion. If there is any question regard - If the questionnaire is missing, Public Works Director. ing a service that we are authorized please contact City Hall at 561- Poss served as the Brooklyn Center t0l perform, please call us at 5440. City Manager since 1965, and prior to 561 -5440. that period was also the City Engineer. Initial Stages Of Comprehensive Plan Revision Are Completed adopt a Comprehensive Development Comprehensive Plan must include hous- The initial stages of a major revision Plan. ing, environmental controls, and capital and updating of the City's Comprehen- The Plan has to be consistent with improvements. sive Development Plan have been com- the planning guidelines set forth in the Related to the Comprehensive Plan - pleted. law and adopted by the Metro Council ning effort is the mandated special plan - The Metropolitan Land Planning Act, with respect to the various metropolitan ning of the Mississippi River Critical Area passed by the 1976 Legislature, requires systems including airports, transporta- Corridor which is defined by law, and in that each municipality in the seven- tion, waste control and parks. Brooklyn Center includes roughly the county metropolitan area develop and Other items to be covered by the area east of Highway 169 and the new Freeway Corridor. The City has accepted a grant pro - Police Increases Enforcement vided under the law to assist in this plan- ning effort which requires that a Compre- hensive Plan be accomplished for this Of Pedestrian Right Of Way area. It is the intent of the City to com- bine these planning efforts with the lished as pedestrian crosswalks. Pedes- general Comprehensive Planning of the Brooklyn. Center police are increasing trians have the right -of -way at all inter- entire community. their efforts to enforce pedestrian rights sections and at all other "marked" cross- In the near future, the City Council as defined in the Minnesota Traffic walks. is expected to approve the designation of Regulation Act. In the situation of a right turn on red, a consultant to assist the City in defin- It is hoped that alerting the public the driver must yield to the pedestrian in ing its goals, and to achieve the technical and strictly enforcing the Traffic Act the intersection, whether the intersec- information required for the Plan. will decrease pedestrian related accidents tion is marked or unmarked. It is also expected that the Planning in Brooklyn Center. The police will be tagging both drivers Commission will draw upon the input According to the Act, where traffic and pedestrians for non - compliance with from the six Neighborhood Advisory control signals are not in place or in oper- these traffic regulations. Cooperation of Groups created during the mid 1960's ation, the driver of a vehicle must yield drivers and pedestrians is asked in order when the initial Comprehensive Plan the right of way to a pedestrian crossing to make the streets safer for all residents. was developed. the roadway within a crosswalk. Pedestrians should not leave the curb suddenly or move into the path of an Resident Help Needed For oncoming car when it would be impos- s- sible for the driver to yield. Pedestrians must yield the right c way to al I vehicles Effective Snow Removal when the pedestrian crosses the roadway at a point other than within a marked crosswalk or within an unmarked cross- With the winter months rapidly ap- Street and sidewalk crews will oper- walk at an intersection. proaching, the City of Brooklyn Center ate when there has been a snowfall of 3 As a point of clarification, all inter- wishes to remind its residents of the inches or more. The crews begin when sections, regardless of whether they are regulations required for effective snow- the storm subsides no matter what time marked or unmarked, are legally estab- plowing in the community. of day. The City is divided into 10 dis- tricts with a street plow to each dis- trict. New CEAP Offices Will Arterial streets are cleared first, then residential streets. The plow will make Provide Social Services four passes the street —two to clear and two to wi den the street. Residents are reminded not to park The new Community Emergency ect, with an additional $4,000 from a on streets during the winter especially Assistance Program (CEAP) head- bicentennial grant, and $1,000 from the during and after a snowfall. Vehicles quarters, officially dedicated in Septem- Jaycees. will be ticketed and towed away, if nec- ber, are located at the old City Hall, Work on the project began last Octo- essary, when obstructing the clearing of 7100 Brooklyn Boulevard. ber by the Jaycees providing skills and the streets. The building renovation was aproject labor resources of its members. Residents are also reminded to warn of the Brooklyn Center Jaycees who The CEAP will furnish to the resi provided an estimated $90,000 in man- dents of both communities basic emer- their children not to play in the snow hours. The two levels of the building gency social services such as food, cloth- piles made the snow plows. Plow will house the offices, food pantry, ing, shelter, household staples, as well as operators often cannot see children in these banks and children could be clothes closet, a kitchen and a large meet- assistance to the needy in their dealings buried in snow or seriously hurt. ing room. Both levels have been designed with other agencies, and assistance for to be accessible to the handicapped. the senior citizens. Apologies are offered in advance for The Cities of Brooklyn Center and The organization was founded in 1970 plugged driveways — a painful and un- Brooklyn Park, in a joint agreement, and is governed by an 18- member board avoidable side effect of well - plowed contributed $17,000 each for the proj- with approximately 1,500 volunteers. streets and walks. General Cit y Council Items The Brooklyn Center City Council Preliminary Plans has recently approved the following Advisory City developments in the community: For FI_94 Approved • Construction of a retail recrea- Preliminary plans for FI -94 from 53rd Groups Need tional equipment and toy sales facility Avenue North to T.H. 152 have been ap- known as Toy City at the intersection of proved by the Brooklyn Center City Summit Drive and Earle Brown Drive on Council. New Members Highway 100. The proposed plans alsocontain noise • Construction of a Car X Muffler abatement for abutting residential prop- Five citizen commissions aid the Service facility, and a Winchell Donut erties, Construction on the proposed Brooklyn Center City Council in an Shop on the property previously occu- project is scheduled to start in 1978 for advisory capacity regarding a wide range pied by a Texaco Oil station, at 68th the section between 53rd Avenue North of activities. and Brooklyn Boulevard. and 62nd Avenue North. Other con- Presently, residents are needed to fill struction is scheduled to begin in 1979 vacancies in the Neighborhood Advisory • Approval of a new real estate and for the revisions of the existing freeway office building at the northeast corner between T.H. 169 and T.H. 152. Groups to the Planning Commission, and of 70th and Brooklyn Boulevard. The freeway is scheduled for comple- members are also needed for the Human • Approval of 19 townhouse units lion and open to traffic in 1981. Rights Commission, on the multiple residential zoned land Any resident interested in being con - between France Avenue and Ewing Lane, Motorized Boats sidered as a member to any of the com- south of 63rd Avenue North. missions should contact the City Man - Banned On lake ager's Office, 6301 Shingle Creek Park- Approval of the second phase of way, or call 561 -5440. Other commis - The Ponds, a lanned unit develo ment A Tri -City Committee, made up of p P sions serving the City include the Park at 69th and Unity Avenue North. A members from Brooklyn Center, Crystal and Recreation Commission, the Hous- total of 48 units have been approved for and Robbinsdale, has passed a resolution ing Commission, and the Conservation the developer, the Meadow Corporation, to completely ban the use of motorized Commission. with the units consisting of two -unit boats on Twin Lake. condominium ownership dwellings. The resolution was drafted for the As vacancies appear in some of the purpose of requesting Hennepin County commissions, the Mayor will consider • Approved earlier this year, the to regulate boating activities on the lake. the applications. All commission mem- Ground Round Restaurant is nearing The resolution was passed after exhaust- bers are appointed by the Mayor, sub - completion at the southeast corner of ive studies and many public hearings. ject to confirmation by the City Council. Shingle Creek Parkway and County Road 10. • The final phase of the Westbrook Noise Abatement Ordinance Mall Shopping Center, at County Road 10 and Xerxes Avenue North, isnearing A noise abatement ordinance, which reaches such a volume as to disturb the completion. It consists of a freestanding became effective in August, was passed with g peace. It is the individual's responsibil- building, proposed occupancies to by the Brooklyn Center City Council. ity to leave the residence or property if include a financial institution and a The ordinance was passed in order to the noise volume reaches a disturbing men's apparel store. allow for the control of loud, unneces• level. sary or prolonged noise in the public Under this ordinance, police officers Additional Speed interest. Noise is a major contemporary may cite the owner or tenant of the urban concern which is stressful to property, if there is a refusal to abate the Enforcement people living in proximity to one disturbance upon the request of a police another. officer. Citations may also be given to In response to speeding complaints Under the new ordinance, people are anyone who refuses to leave the prem- and an increase in personal injury, prop- not allowed to participate or to attend a ises of a noisy gathering. Violation of erty damage and pedestrian related acci- gathering in which the noise level this ordinance is a misdemeanor. dents in Brooklyn Center, the police department has begun additional radar enforcement within the City. Diseased Tree Removal Officers assigned to special detail radar assignments will pay particular at- the tree disease is early detection and tention to speed zones and high viola- Continuing resident help can be a removal. tion areas. major element in preventing the spread The community lost 300 elms in In studies conducted nationwide, it of Dutch Elm tree disease in the com- 1976, with the losses climbing to 650 is a proven fact that speeding does in- munity, according to the Brooklyn elms in 1977, making the early detection crease the number and severity of motor Center Park Department, which is re- and removal program very important. vehicle accidents. It is in the best inter- sponsible for the control program. Affected owners will receive a form ests of all residents of Brooklyn Center Although continuous studies have explaining all the options, which must be to drive the posted speeds or less if con- been conducted to find an alternative, completed and mailed back to the City's ditions so warrant. the only means of slowing the spread of Park and Recreation Department Proposed Park Improvement Cost Estimate Under Stud chard Lane; restrooms ($4,400) at Happy green, West Palmer, Willow Lane, Ky- The Brooklyn Center Park and Recre- Hollow; hockey rink ($11,000) at West lawn and Northport, including entrances ation Advisory Commission has com- Palmer. and parking lots is estimated at $45,100, pleted a study dealing with a proposed Estimated cost of standards at volley- followed by $73,920 for walks and ap- park improvement which may require a ball courts is $1,100 in all parks, with an paratus, and $39,600 for tennis courts. bond issue. additional $12,100 for bituminous cover. Playground equipment at all parks should The work by the commission was An estimate of $ 2,640 has been set for cost $74,800. started when the City Council approved horseshoe courts at Twin Beach, Happy An estimate of $365,750 has also been a policy plan for parks. The improve- Hollow, East Palmer, West Palmer, Fire- produced for the following items: sur- ment of neighborhood parks and play- house, Riverdale, Evergreen, Willow facing the parking lots with curb; drink - grounds is the top priority, followed by Lane, Freeway, Brooklane, Orchard Lane ing fountains; benches, litter receptacles, the development of the Central Park, and Lions. bike racks, plant materials, picnicshelter, located behind the Community Center. Proposed lighting at Grandview, Ever- signs, aesthetics and miscellaneous. It will take several months before the total costs are estimated and financing 1978 Budget Is A is reviewed, followed by resident hear- ings and adjustments. An estimate for improvement of the Following three weeks of delibera- are reflected in the adopted 1978 Bud - overall park system, includingthe natural tion, the Brooklyn Center City Council get. The Budget primarily consists of areas, Central Park, Shingle Creek Trail- unanimously approved the 1978 City items necessary for day -to -day operation, way, playlots, playgrounds, fields and Budget amounting to $4,073,850. The reducing long term maintenance and the arboretum has been set at 1977 budget appropriations amounted operations costs, and increasing energy $2,240,724. to $3,797,110. conservation. The City staff will review the financ- The Budget increase is offset by in- Employee wages and insurance bene- ing, including the City's bonding capac- creased State aids, an increased tax base, fits constitute approximately 59 per ity, the availability of grants and money and changes in the1977 Omnibus Tax cent of the Budget, which is typical of from the current operating budget. Bill. Consequently, the City tax based on most suburban budgets. Wage negotia- a $35,000 home will amount to $124.17 tions for 1978 with the police personnel Estimates for improvements at neigh- in 1978, as compared to $142.82 in are presently underway. borhood parks are as follows: shelter 1977. There are three major taxing units, buildings ($66,000) at Riverdale, Free- The 1977 mill rate of 16.199 mills is including the City, School Districts, and way and Brooklane; basketball courts, very close to the 15 -year average City Hennepin County. The City tax levy ac- including standards, backstops ($5,500) mill rate of 16.266 mills. The mill rate counts for 15 per cent of the total levy; and bituminous ($9,900) at Twin Beach, is the total City property tax divided by the School Districts account for 51 per Northport, Happy Hollow, East Palmer, the taxable value of all properties in cent, and Hennepin County about 29 per Firehouse, Riverdale, Evergreen, Willow Brooklyn Center. cent. Special taxing districts make up Lane, Freeway, West Palmer, and Or- No major new programs or services the rest of the total tax levy. CITY OF BR0ok1yN CENTER BULK RATE 6301 SHINGLE CREEK PARKWAY U.S. POSTAGE BROOKLYN CENTER, MINNESOTA 55430 PAID CITY COUNCIL Minneapolis, Philip Cohen .............. Minnesota .Mayor Permit No. 2170 Maurice Britts ................ Councilman William Fignar ................ Councilman Tony Kuefler ................. Councilman Gene Lhotka ................. Councilman Gerald Splinter .............. City Manager BROOKLYN CENTER SERVICE DIRECTORY Emergency Numbers (24 hours a Day) POLICE- FIRE ................. 561 -5720 City Hall Offices ................ 561 -5440 (Monday through Friday — 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.) Community Center ............... 561 -5448