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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998 Edition 114 October-November Edition 114 OctoberlNovember 1998 C1 ty Wa t A newsletter for residents of the City of Brooklyn Center VOTE Tuesday, November 3 Mayor and Two City Council Seats on Ballot The General Election will be The two candidates for the Code Enforcement Tuesday, November 3, and office of Mayor are: 1) Myrna Sweep Continues polls will open at 7 a.m. and Kragness; and 2) Robert close at 8 p.m. On the ballot Peppe; and the four candidates The code enforcement sweep for will be the names of candidates for the two offices of Council the summer of 1998 has been for Federal, State, County, Member are: 1) Jerry Blarney; completed in the city in the areas Judicial, and City offices, along 2) Debra Hilstrom; 3) Chuck north of I - 694. The sweep will with three constitutional Lenthe; and 4) Ed Nelson. See continue in a counter - clockwise amendments. The City offices pages 2 and 3 for polling fashion until complete. The sweep on the ballot are Mayor and locations and more voter is being conducted in this fashion two Council Members. information. due to construction projects and utility improvements that have w * wwwww����R�R• been occurring this summer in the Absentee Ballot Voting south end of the city. Due to the Inside this issue: Any eligible voter who expects fact that the winter months are fast to be unable to go to the approaching, the sweep will focus Groundbreaking/Police/Fire stations polling place on election day in primarily on debris, junk vehicles, Brooklyn Center Polling Locations .... 2 the precinct where the and garbage containers. Exterior :§ maintenance on structures will be Election Day Registration ..................3 ? individual maintains residence delayed until the spring of 1999. Capital Improvements - Streets .... 4 &5 may vote by absentee ballot. Capital Improvements - Parks ...... 6 &7 'h You can vote by absentee CODE TIP - to help maintain a Landscape & Garden Contest ............ 8 l ballot at City Hall during neat and clean appearance in our Snow Removal Operations ................9 regular business hours, 8 a.m. community, City Ordinance No. 7- Brooklyn Historical Society to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 102, Refuse Storage and Disposal, Traffic Signal Conversion Friday. City Hall will also be states, "All refuse, including yard City Offices Closed - Holidays open for absentee ballot voting waste, must be stored in required Charter Com. Seeks Volunteers ...... 10 on Saturday, October 31, 1 to containers. watertight, with a Winter Parking Regulations 3 p.m., and Monday, watertight lid, rodent proof, and Winter Drivin November 2, until 7 p.m. not to exceed 30 gallons ... and Gas Pump Credit Card Security containers MUST be stored in the >; Absentee ballot applications Pedestrian safety . .............................11 can be obtained at City Hall. REAR of the premises, out of view Holl Sunda ....... .............................12 from the street in front of the Absentee ballots can only be premises or placed in the issued to the individual casting garage. " the ballot, either in person or by mail. For additional To report a code violation, information, please contact call 569 - 3339. City Clerk Sharon Knutson at 569 -3300 during regular business hours. Election Daij Registration —Se Prepared Voter registration is allowed at the polling places on election day. Plenty of time should be allowed for the process and eligible voters are encouraged to be informed of what type of proof of residence is acceptable to register at the polls. To be eligible to register to vote in Brooklyn Center, an individual must be: *At least 18 years old on election day. *Citizen of the United States. *Resident of Minnesota for at least 20 days prior to the election. If you have previously registered, there is no need to go through the process again unless you have failed to vote once in four preceding years, moved to a different address, or have changed your name. To register at the polls, a resident must provide proof of residence in the precinct either with Option 1 or Option 2. OPTION 1 - Present one of the following. *Valid Minnesota driver's license showing address in precinct. *Valid Minnesota identification card showing address in precinct. *Notice of ineffective registration. *Valid registration in the same precinct but from an old address. *A registered voter in your precinct who will sign an oath stating that you reside in the precinct in which you are voting. *College students may present a student fee statement, a student identification card, or a student registration card, as long as it shows their address in the precinct. OPTION 2 - Present one of the photo identification cards listed in Item A and one of the additional proofs of residence listed in Item B. Item A Item B *Valid Minnesota driver's license or *Gas bill. identification card. *Electric bill. *United States passport. *Telephone bill. *United States military identification card. *Cable television bill. *Student identification card issued by a *Solid waste bill. Minnesota postsecondary educational *Water or sewer bill. institution. The utility bills must show the voter's name and current address in the precinct and the due date of the bill must be within 30 days before or after election day. pig Tuesday, November 3 3 5 -YEAR PLAN Looking Back Projects paid for through combination of funds During the past five years, Reconstruction projects are paid for through a combination of funds. Water about 22 miles of the City's and sanitary sewer improvements are paid at this time entirely from the 102 miles of streets have water and sanitary sewer utility funds which have been built up over the been reconstructed. In most years through the rates paid on quarterly utility bills. Storm sewer cases, this means the streets improvements, where storm sewer is being installed or upgraded, are paid have been totally removed, for by a combination of special assessments and the storm drainage utility the utilities excavated and fund. Street improvements are paid for through a combination of special replaced as necessary, and the assessments, General Fund (property tax revenue), and some state aid which street reconstructed with is specifically for street reconstruction. concrete curb and gutter. A significant amount of new The City's Special Assessment Policy requires assessments on single - family storm sewer has also been lots be a uniform rate, that is, each house is assessed the same amount installed, along with several regardless of its size or the value of the house, or if it's a corner or interior storm water detention and lot. So, for example, all the single - family lots in the two neighborhoods treatment ponds. reconstructed in 1998 paid $2,060 each for street improvements and $670 each for drainage improvements. Townhouses, apartments, schools, and churches, and businesses all pay different rates based on the size of the property. All rates increase every year to keep up with inflation. Looking Ahead Each year, the projects for the coming five years are reevaluated. These are 2000 Q summarized in the City Capital Improvement Program, which is reviewed at the Truth in Taxation 200 hearing in December, the _ same time as the City's ® -` budget and tax levy. Prior to considering the construction 200 of an actual project, City staff ® ®� 1999 hold two or more ®® _ informational meetings with 200 ®® the neighborhood, and the ® a City Council holds a public hearing. For more information on the 5 Year Plan, the Capital City of Brooklyn Center Improvement Program or improvement projects in City Streets Proposed general, call the City to be Reconstructed Engineering Office at 569 -3340. 5 5 -YEAR PLAN Long -term plan V' c o L developed Q E E S� EW A long -term plan has been o o > u Y O P developed to schedule the _ a a improvements to the City's 21 � m =1 U n o c U) ai O � a� 70 0 — parks. Each year this plan is 0 M CID reevaluated, and some projects s 0 o �, a m m .3 .` > may be rescheduled based on co a a m m a- 0 o a- a reprioritization, park Capital Projects 1998 neighborhood requests, or Bellvue maintenance need. The chart East Palmer Lake at the right serves as a Happy Hollow guideline for the long -term Evergreen plan and is subject to change. Park Capital Projects 1999 Northport Park improvements scheduled Bellvue for 1999 are: Lions • Northport: lighting Wangstad improvements and bleacher Willow Lane replacements East Palmer Lake • Bellvue: landscaping and Kylawn, W Palmer, Grandview trail construction on the Central south end, relocate ,Park Capital Projects 2000 basketball court • Lions: replace warming Central house with picnic shelter, Happy Hollow improve lighting, add East Palmer Lake swings, rehab pavement Firehouse Park around Little League fields Garden City and building Park Capital Proj 2001 • Wangstad: replace Freeway playground equipment Orchard Lane • Willow Lane: lighting West Palmer Lake improvements Park Capital Projects 2002 • East Palmer: replace Willow Lane outfield fence, lighting Riverdale improvements Kylawn Park/Arboretum • Kylawn, West Palmer, Cahlander Grandview: add swings Park Capital Projects 20 • Central: construct Twin Lake concession stand, improve Grandview H+ drainage and raise ballfields, rehab Plaza The shaded boxes indicate the improvements scheduled to be completed. ponds and boardwalk 7 Snow Removal Operations Snow Removal Keep Fire Hydrants Clear Boulevard Maintenance Policy Street snow removal operations will Please help keep fire hydrants clear of Residents are reminded that by City begin when there has been a snowfall snow. In the event of a fire, valuable ordinance items such as landscape of more than 2 '/z inches or if other time may be lost if the fire rocks, sprinkler systems, fences, conditions warrant plowing. Sidewalk department has to locate and/or bollards, timbers, shrubs, retaining snow removal will occur when there remove snow from a hydrant. walls, gardens, and large permanent has been a snowfall of one inch or mailbox installations (constructed of more. Crews will begin plowing as Mailboxes - Installation and concrete, brick, wood, etc.) are not soon as the storm subsides. The City Damage allowed on the boulevard, that is, streets are divided into ten districts, Standard mailbox and post from the edge of the street back 10- with plows assigned to each district. installations meeting U.S. Postal 15 feet. The boulevard area is The arterial streets will be cleared regulations are allowed within the reserved for snow storage and for first, followed by the residential boulevard area. You should check utility placements. On occasion streets. The snow plow must make your mailbox and post installation objects in the boulevard are damaged several passes up and down the street each year to prevent problems which during winter snowplowing to remove the snow; two to clear the typically occur during the winter operations when they are struck by center and two or more to widen the months, making repairs difficult and heavy snow and ice or snowplowing street gutter to gutter. Because causing a delay in mail delivery. equipment. The City cannot accept plowing routes are sometimes long, it Check mailbox posts for signs of responsibility for private property may be one hour or more between the rotting wood or rusted metal. located on City right -of -way and will clearing pass and the final widening Typically, when a post has been in not repair or replace immovable items pass. the ground for a few years, a wood placed in these areas. Property post will rot off and a metal post will owners should remove items or place Child Safety rust at the base. Rotted, rusted, or them at least ten feet behind the curb Please remind your children not to unstable installations need to be line or the edge of the street. build snow forts or play in the snow replaced with a sturdy 4" x 4" post piles made by the plows. The plow and the mailbox and paper box operators often cannot see children in must be installed a minimum of the snow banks, and they could be 45" above the street surface to buried in the snow or seriously hurt. accommodate the height of the plow. FAe ic Works garage When driving allow ample distance The City will repair or replace rmally open between your vehicle and the properly installed mailboxes which to 3:30 p.m. snowplow. Snow conditions often are damaged by direct contact with Monday through Friday. require that the snowplow driver stop snow removal equipment. The City and back up before continuing; this will not assume responsibility for To report snowy or icy can create a potential accident when damage simply caused from snow vehicles follow too closely. ressure. conditions outside of these p hours if snowplows are Garbage/Recycling Containers Driveways operating, a public works Garbage and recycling containers We apologize in advance for plugged dispatcher may be available must be placed so they are accessible driveways, which are unavoidable at 569 -3380. for pickup, but during the snow side effects of well - plowed streets season they may not be placed in the and sidewalks. To reduce the If there is no answer, please road or on the sidewalk. To assist frustration of shoveling out the end of call the non - emergency snowplowing operations, place the your driveway twice, we suggest you Police at 569 -3333. containers in the driveway. wait until the street is plowed to its full width before tackling the windrow. 9 Winter Parking Regulations Residents are reminded to follow City parking ordinances and not to park overnight on streets; especially during and after a snowfall. Vehicles will be ticketed and towed away, if necessary, NO when obstructing snow removal operations. The police department continues to enforce the PARKING parking ordinance which prohibits parking on City streets between 2 a.m and 6 a.m. Vehicles cannot be parked on a City street more than six consecutive hours at any time. Parking in alleys is not permitted at any time. Strong enforcement of the parking ordinance enhances public 2 A.M. safety by minimizing motor vehicle accidents, vandalism, and theft from vehicles parked on TO the street overnight. Streets that are clear of parked cars also assists public works in their street 6 A.M. maintenance projects including snow plowing, street sweeping, and other routine street maintenance. Winter Driving Make sure your vehicle is equipped with booster cables, road flares, a shovel, snowmobile suit, sleeping bag or blankets, mittens, stocking cap and boots, windshield scraper, and tow rope. Equip your vehicle with a "winter survival kit" which should include: flashlights, hand /foot warmer packets, first aid supplies, high energy candy or snacks, brightly colored cloth to tie on vehicle's antenna for help if stranded. Make sure your vehicle is prepared for Minnesota's harsh winters. Test your anti - freeze, battery, brakes, exhaust, and lights. Never travel with less than a half tank of gas. Gas Pump Credit Card Security Pedestrian Safety It has come to the attention of -+Man residents en walking Y enjoy g h P Department _ _ _ the Police h t at f r activit or an o Y some citizens are risking big efficient method of transportation. problems by failing to tear off - +Pedestrian visibility is a greater their receipt when they pay by concern as the daylight hours credit card at the gas pump. grow shorter. The receipt has your credit -4Pedestrians are encouraged to wear light colored card number on it, and if a or reflective clothing articles in order to increase dishonest person gets a hold their visibility. of it, that person can start - 1Minnesota State Statute requires that pedestrians charging purchases using your number. The criminal walking along a roadway walk on the side facing does not have to have your card, just your number. oncoming traffic. Please take your receipt with you even if you have no -4Motorists are reminded to be especially aware of use for it and always take steps to keep your card number confidential. pedestrians near schools, churches, and commercial areas. -+Minnesota State Statute requires that motorists stop and ield to pedestrians in cros swalks. 11