HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992 Edition 80 June ON
MAMI
° nN BROOKLYN ENTER
CITY NEWSLETTER
NUMBER 80 JUNE 1992
New Water
Slide At
k
3
t Community
Center
A new 150 -foot water slide at the
r Brooklyn Center Community Cen-
ter was inaugurated by some 215
persons on Friday, April 24. On
Saturday and Sunday, a combined
a=
- total of 858 persons climbed the 33
. F
s o esli a to the ride.
teps f th 'd t art th
There is a minimum height re-
- - -- quirement of 52 inches since the
Fire Department Needs riders enter the water at 3 feet, 8
inches. A child not meeting the
height requirement can be accom-
Volunteer Firefighters paned by an adult 18 years of age
and older.
The Brooklyn Center Fire Depart- •Living in Brooklyn Center or The total cost for the installation
ment depends on volunteers to pro - within a 6 minute response time of was $190,000, and also included a
vide protection for the residents, a fire station. A fire doubles in size new water heater; old pipe was re-
and currently there are some open- every minute that it burns, and the placed; and there were code up-
ings for day - available volunteers to firefighters are on the scene within dates. In addition, the concession
bring the force up to capacity. five to seven minutes after a fire is stand on the upper level was en-
reported. lar ed to handle the bigger crowds
The training program begins in g f�
the fall, and volunteers must meet •A safe driver without any history expected in the center.
these qualifications: of major violations, and For information about water slide
• 18 years or older, and in good *Available during the day to re- hours and costs please call the Com-
munity Center at 569 -3400.
physical health. spond to calls.
Daytime fire positions are avail- File for City
able for persons who work at night,
or persons who work during the day Council Seats
and can leave their job to respond to
a fire or emergency call. Starting at 8 a.m., on Tuesday,
July 7, and ending at 4:30 p.m.,
If you are interested in volunteer - Tuesday, July 21, the City of Brook-
ing, please call Fire Chief Ron Boman lyn Center will accept affidavits of
This newsletter represents at 569 -3360 or stop by the fire candidacy for two seats on the City
the City of Brooklyn Center's station at 63rd and Brooklyn Bou- Council to be voted upon in the
concern for conservation of levard any night after 8 p.m., or general election on Tuesday, No-
resources and energy. This anytime on Saturday or Sunday. vember 3 of this year.
issue is printed on 100% You will be asked to fill out an Each council office is for a four -
recycled paper.
(Continued on Page 6) (Continued on Page 2)
1
Diverse Construction Projects Are Underway
69th Avenue North look (and smell) a lot better than the Sanitary Sewer Replacement
Reconstruction old station, originally built in 1955. at Brookdale
The City has entered into a con- Pedestrian Trail Replacements A City owned sanitary sewer line,
tract for the reconstruction of the located within the parking lot at
section of 69th Avenue North be- The walking /biking trail behind Brookdale Shopping Center, is
tween Brooklyn Boulevard and West the Hennepin County Government scheduled for replacement this sum -
Palmer Lake Drive. Center is scheduled for replacement mer. A section of partially collapsed
early this summer. A contract for metal pipe, originally installed in
This work will proceed through- this work was started in the fall of 1960, will be removed and replaced.
out the summer and will involve the 1992; however, high water condi- During construction, traffic will be
addition of water mains, replace- tions adjacent to Shingle Creek pre- detoured away from the construc-
ment of sanitary sewers, relocation vented the City's contractor from tion site; however, access to the
of overhead power lines and the performing the work. Also sched- shopping will not be affected.
construction of a four lane divided uled is the replacement of the trail
parkway. Traffic delays on this por- along the south side of the Street Seal Coating
tion of 69th Avenue North can be Centerbrook Golf Course. The ex- Similar to previous years, a por -
expected throughout the summer isting wood chip trail will be re- tion of the City's streets will be seal
and fall, and motorists are encour- placed with pavement to accommo- coated early this construction sea -
aged to use alternate routes. date bicycle traffic. son. This year's program will in-
volve streets south of Northport
Sidewalk Improvements Water Distribution System p School and the streets between
Improvement Small sections of concrete side- . Centerbrook Golf Course and Logan
The work in the 69th Avenue walk, at various locations through- Avenue North. The project consists
North /Dupont Avenue North area, out the city, are scheduled for re- of spraying the existing road sur-
near the water tower, is scheduled moval and replacement this sum- faces with asphalt and then cover -
for completion this summer. This mer. Sidewalk sections needing re- ing the surface with small rock. The
project involves adding under- placement are most often damaged treated surface is rolled and excess
ground piping to carry water from by the growth of tree roots, which rock material is swept up later.
the City's expanding well field. The cause the panels to heave and cre-
paved surfaces, sodded boulevards ate a hazard to pedestrians, snow If you have any questions re-
and park areas will be fully restored plows, and so on. garding any of the City's con -
at the end of the project. struction projects, you are en-
Also, the sidewalk along the east couraged to call the City
Restoration At Sanitary Sewer Lift side of Humboldt Avenue North, Engineer's office at 569 -3340.
Station No. 1 which is in front of the Humboldt
Square shopping center, will be re-
Located south of Brooklyn Drive moved and replaced with a wider
and east of Xerxes, this was the site combined sidewalk /trail. This will
Council...
of a sewer collapse last year. Sec- extend the existing trail recently
tions of pipe were repaired last sum- constructed adjacent to the Brook- (Continued from Page 1)
mer and fall; however, turf in the lyn Center High School property.
area, the driveway to the station, year term starting January 1, 1993.
and a small portion of Brooklyn Sanitary Sewer Replacement If more than twice the number of
Drive was disturbed by the emer- Under I- 94/694 individuals to be elected file, a pri-
gency repair activities. Early this A portion of the City's sanitary mary election will be held on Sep -
summer, a contractor hired by the sewer system, which lies under the tember 15 of this year, to nominate
City will pave the driving surfaces I- 94/694 freeway, is scheduled for candidates for the general election.
and resod the turfed areas. replacement in late spring /early Affidavits for candidacy may be
Replacement of Sanitary Sewer summer. A televised inspection of filed at the City Clerk's Office,
Lift Station No. 2 the inside of existing metal sewer 6301 Shingle Creek Parkway. The
pipe indicated that the walls of the filing fee is $5, and candidates
The replacement of the sanitary pipe are severely corroded, and sec- will be placed on the ballot in
sewer lift station located near 55th tions of the pipe are settling and filing order.
Avenue North and Lyndale Avenue sagging. By replacing this sewer
North is on schedule and should be now, it is hoped that a collapse and Any questions concerning fil-
completed by late June of this year. emergency repair similar to the ings should be directed to Deputy
The new lift station is designed to events last year near Lift Station City Clerk Sharon Knutson at 569 -
require less maintenance and to No. 1 will be avoided. 3300.
2
Heritage Center To Host 15th Annual
Wildlife Heritage Art Show July 30- August 2
The Earle Brown Heritage Center print for the exhibition. He has re- numerous awards for his works.
has been chosen as the new site for ceived numerous honors and The show will be an opportunity
the Wildlife Heritage Association's awards and is well known for his to view and purchase wildlife art
15th Annual Art Show to be held conservation efforts to support wild- and other distinctive, quality items
July 30 through August 2. The as- life habitat preservation. and keepsakes. There will a silent
sociation is a nonprofit organiza- The poster print chosen for the auction for the frame print, "North -
tion formed in 1975 to promote show is by Ken Zylla. The print, ern Lights "; an awards ceremony;
conservation and educational goals, "The Historic Earle Brown Farm ", special raffles of wildlife art prints;
and to help people set aside wild depicts the farm as it was many artists' carvings and painting dem-
lands for future generations. years ago. A Minnesota native, he onstrations; seminars by naturalist
James A. Meger has been named has been a professional artist for and wildlife experts; carriage rides;
the " 1992 Artist of the Year" for this more than 20 years, and is also an retriever handling demonstrations;
year's show. His new work, "Night active member of several conserva- decoy displays, and door prizes.
Lights" will be featured as the show's tion organizations and has received For more information, please
contact the Wildlife Heritage As-
_ sociation at 925 -1923 or 715 -
398 -7680.
Participate In
Adopt -A -Park
Program
City residents, service organiza-
tions, schools, churches, and other
individuals and groups are invited
to participate in the new Adopt -A-
Park program. Adopt -A -Trail and
Adopt -A- Street programs are also
available.
Participants volunteer to clean up
JAMES A. MEGER'S work is the show's featured print. their adopted park, trail, or street at
least three times per year. Partici-
pants may also arrange to perform
other services, such as tree or flower
planting, painting, or other special
projects. In recognition of the time
and effort of volunteers, the City
will install a sign in the park, or on
` the trail or street, identifying the T -O ., 1 " group.
Several parks have already been
adopted, including Central Park,
Twin Lake Beach, the Twin Lake
open spaces, and Grandview Park.
About 20 parks and trail segments
and 15 streets are available to be
adopted.
If you or your organization is
!� interested in contributing time
and effort to this worthwhile civic
a AM function, please contact 569
KEN ZYLI.A'S work was chosen as the poster print for the show. 3340 or 569 -3380.
3
Peacemaker Center Helps Twin Lake Patrol
Juvenile Offenders Needs Volunteers
The cities of Brooklyn Center,
Based in Brooklyn Center, it serves Crystal and Robbinsdale have en-
the entire north Hennepin area since tered into a j oint powers agreement
the Brookdale Mall attracts people authorizing the communities to
from all the northern suburbs as patrol Twin Lake.
well as Minneapolis.
Due to increasing changes in so-
The Twin Lake Patrol needs vol-
— ciety and family structure, it be unteers to monitor recreational ac-
tivity on the lake during the sum-
comes more important to address mer and winter seasons.
— problems resulting from these
changes. The objective of the Peace-
Volunteers will be responsible for
maker Center is to address prob- advising persons regarding safety
lems facing each referred juvenile concerns, enforcing watercraft and
offender, and to assist individuals snowmobile regulations, and report-
and families in resolving problems ing hazardous conditions to a po-
in their lives by determining the lice sergeant. A small watercraft is
BROOKLYN cause of the problems and not just used in the summer and snowmo-
PEACEMAKER CENTER, the symptoms. A diagnostic team of bile is used in the winter.
INC. professionals and volunteers as-
sesses each situation and then as- Equipment and training will be
Brooklyn Center Peacemaker Cen- signs a program to help work out provided by the member communi-
ter, Inc. is a non - profit organization the problem. ties. Applicants must be 18 years of
that serves as a juvenile diversion Because of the rapidly increasing age or older and of good character,
program for first term offenders. number of cases, additional volun- and there is no residency require -
The organization had 532 referrals teers are needed. Diagnostic teams ment.
from the Brooklyn Center Police now meet with juvenile offenders Applications are available at the
Department during its first two years three nights each week. If you are police departments in Brooklyn
of operation. Most were for shoplift- concerned about our youth and Center, Crystal and Robbinsdale.
ing and theft, but also included are interested in helping, please Additional information can be ob-
vandalism, property damage, fight - fill out the form, or call 535- tained by calling Sergeant John
ing, and possession of alcohol. 0995. Ptak at the Brooklyn Center Po-
-- lice Department, 569 -3333.
Peacemaker Center I
5637 Brooklyn Boulevard Leave Grass
Suite 200
Brooklyn Center, MN 55429 Clippings On
I would like to volunteer to: Lawn
Help in the office (telephone, typing, etc.) 0
Instead of paying to have grass
Work on a diagnostic team. 0 clippings hauled away, or taking
Be a liaison with organizations/ churches. Q the time to bring the clippings to a
Work on fund raising. i drop -off site, consider not bagging
your grass this year.
Serve on Peacemaker's advisory board.
According to turf experts, leaving
Name ' grass clippings on the lawn reduces
water loss through evaporation, re-
Address (street) ; duces lawn wear, and helps your
grass grow better. Leaving your clip-
(city) ( Z ip) pings on the lawn all year is equiva-
lent to one fertilization application
Phone due to the nitrogen released as the
L _________________________J grass decomposes.
4
New Auto Theft
Prevention How Much of My Taxes
C.A.T. (combat auto theft) is an Finance City Services?
innovative new program designed 3
to deter auto theft. The idea is to
catch the auto thieves quickly, and
often before the owner even knows
the car has been stolen.
Vehicle owners sign a consent
form allowing the police to stop the. �, {
vehicle without cause if it is being "
driven between the hours of 1 a.m.
and 5 a.m. and check the vehicle's - I
registration and the driver's iden-
tity. An average home in Brooklyn Center has a market value of $74,000.
In 1991, this average home owner had a total property tax bill of
When the owner registers the ve- $931.01. Of this total, the City of Brooklyn Center received $149.28
hicle, a C.A.T. decal made of tough or approximately 16% of the total fax bill.
reflective material is issued to be
placed on the upper left corner Sales and income taxes paid by this average home owner are used
(driver's side) of the rear window. to reduce property taxes. It is estimated that the 1991 annual share
of these taxes credited to this home owner for City services through
If you are interested in additional the homestead credit ($35.60) and Local Government Aid ($55.26)
information or for enrollment infor- totaled $90.86.
mation, please call the Brooklyn This home owner paid $149.28 in property taxes for city services
Center Police Department at 569- and $90.86 in sales and income taxes which reduced the property
3333 during normal business hours. tax for a total of $240.14 or $20.01 per month.
What does this home owner buy for $20.01 per month?
GAT PUBLIC SAFETY $7.49
Police Protection, Fire Protection, Animal Control, Emergency
Preparedness, Planning and Inspection.
PUBLIC WORKS $4.50
Street and Sidewalk Snow Removal, Street Seal Coating, Street
Sweeping, Engineering Services, Street Lights, Traffic Signals.
RECREATION $3.09
Parks Maintenance, Children's Recreation Programs, Teen's
Recreation Programs, Adult Recreation Programs, General Recre-
ation Programs, Community Center.
$50 Recycling HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES $0.23
Inspection Services and Environmental Health Programs
Winners GENERAL GOVERNMENT $3.20
The Hennepin Recycling Group Elections, Administration, Assessing, Finance, Legal, Data
(HRG) selects one Brooklyn Center Processing, Commissions, Building Maintenance.
residence, at random, to win $50 PAYMENT ON DEBT $1.50
each week. The selected household Annual Payment for Principal and Interest for Past Year's Bor-
is checked between 6:30 a.m. and rowing for Park Improvements and Equipment
8:30 a.m. to see if the recyclables TOTAL COST FOR SERVICES
are at the curb. PER MONTH FROM TAXES $20.01
The winners for March were: For your own reference, the next time you pay your monthly
Mark Johnson, Dave Andresen, bills think how much you pay monthly for your gas, elec-
Larry Freund, and Ronald Aukema. tric, garbage, cable television, and so forth, and compare
these amounts to the average monthly cost of $20.01 for
The winners for April were: city services.
Gloria Baker, Jerry Leach, Elmer
Gag, and Lois Zajkowski. --
5
Homes Needed
For Water Testing
The Brooklyn Center Water De-
partment is looking for 60 home
owners willing to participate in a
program of water quality testing.
To meet the requirements of the - r
Lead and Copper Rule of the Safe
Drinking Water Act, the City must`
have 60 sites tested for lead and
copper twice a year. The testing will
be conducted at no charge to the
home owner, and the results will be
reported back to the owner. Fire Department... (Continued from Page 1)
The City recently had its munici- application form, and you will be personal satisfaction of contribut-
pal water tested for lead and cop- interviewed. Selected candidates ing to the community.
per, and found that at all sites tested receive a complete physical exami-
there was no lead or copper de- nation, including blood tests, a
tected. The most common source of stress test and a lung capacity test.
lead or copper in drinking water is Members of the department re- Appraisers To
from pipes or fixtures in the home. ceive the following: a free compre-
Therefore, these federally required hensive physical; free training Inspect 2,,300
tests will be conducted on samples classes (and college credits) in emer-
provided by the home owners from gency procedures; safe driving, fire Properties
their taps. fighting techniques, and hazardous
If you are interested in participat- materials training; city provided fire The office of the City Assessor
ing in this lead and copper testing fighting gear and uniforms; pen- began the annual review of residen-
program, call the Brooklyn Center sion (with vesting after 10 years and tial property on May 4. This year,
Water Department at 569 -3390, and collectable at age 50), and supple- approximately 2,300 residential
leave your name, address, phone mental retirement benefits; an op- properties, in an area from County
number, and the approximate year portunity to socialize with other fire Road 10 north to Interstate 94 from
your house was built. fighters and their families; and the Central Park west to the city limits,
I will be reviewed and reinspected.
These reviews are required by state {
Brooklyn Center law to insure the accuracy of the
records, and the inspections should
6301 Shingle Creek Parkway be completed by mid - September.
Brooklyn Center, MN 55430
Letters will be mailed approxi-
CITY COUNCIL mately 10 days prior to reaching
Todd Paulson .. ............................... .........................Mayor each property, and an appraiser
will visit each home to verify the
Phil Cohen ........... ............................... .....................Councilman j
Jerry Pedlar ......... ............................... .....................Councilman records.
Dave Rosene ....... ............................... .....................Councilman The appraisers carry photo iden-
Celia Scott ................................ ............................... Councilwoman tifications, and will explain the pur-
Gerald Splinter .......................... ............................... City Manager pose of the inspection. If the owner
is not at home, the appraiser will
SERVICE DIRECTORY leave a tag indicating the review is I
complete, or a tag asking the owner
Emergency Number (24 Hours) to contact the office in order to
POLICE - FIRE - MEDICAL ........................... ............................911 complete the review.
Police (non- emergency, information) .............. .......................569 -3333
City Hall Offices .... .................................................................. 569 -3300 If you have any questions re-
(Monday- Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) garding this process, please call j
Community Center ........... ............................... .......................569 -3400 the Brooklyn Center Assessor's
office at 569 -3310. Your coopera-
tion is greatly appreciated.
6