9.c Discussion on draft of the Spring Newsletter
Staff Report
Date of Meeting: March 19, 2019
To: City Council
From: Judi Negus, Office Assistant
Re: Draft Spring Newsletter
Background:
The City sends out two newsletters a year, one in April and one in October. Staff would like to get
the April newsletter out around the first of the month. Therefore, the newsletter needs to get to
the printer as soon as possible after the Council meeting.
Circulation is approximately 1,915, including about 460 newsletters mailed individually to Scandia
residents with Marine mailing addresses. The newsletter is also made available on the City’s
website.
Issue:
Are there any changes the Council would like to see to the newsletter?
Proposal Details:
The newsletter includes the following:
Message from the Mayor
Citizen Request Management/311 System
2019 Assessments
Road Improvement Project
2040 Comprehensive Plan
Scandia Area Community Collaborative
Recycling Basics
Community Calendar
Art in Action Program
Codification
University of MN Tourism Assessment Program
Options:
Identify changes, if any, you would like Staff to make before sending the newsletter to the printer.
CITY OF SCANDIA
Dedicated to Rural Community Values
City of Scandia
Scandia Community/
Senior Center
14727 209th Street North
Scandia, MN 55073
Phone: 651.433.2274
Fax: 651.433.5112
E-mail:
mail@ci.scandia.mn.us
Hours: Mon. thru Fri.
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
City Council:
Christine Maefsky, Mayor
651.433.2684
Chris Ness
651.707.5689
Steve Kronmiller
651.538.0094
Patti Ray
612.812.5590
Jerry Cusick
651.433.5865
Regular Council Meeting:
Third Tuesday, 7:00 p.m.
Council Work Session:
First Wednesday, 6:30 p.m.
Planning Commission:
First Tuesday, 7:00 p.m.
City Staff:
Neil Soltis, Administrator
Brenda Eklund,
Deputy Clerk
Colleen Firkus, Treasurer
Adam Hawkinson, Director of
Public Works
Mike Hinz, Fire Chief
Eric Sherburne, Attorney
Eckberg Lammers
Ryan Goodman, Engineer
Bolton & Menk
Merritt Clapp-Smith, Planner,
TKDA
PRSRT STD
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Scandia, MN
55073
PERMIT #6
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Most Up-to-Date Information
Community Calendar, April 2019 - September, 2019
April
• April 8, 5 p.m., Board of Appeal
and Equalization, Community
Center Board Room
• April 12, 7 p.m., Women’s Soft-
ball Ham Bingo, Community
Center
• April 27 - May 4, Spring
Clean-up Collection Week,
SRC, Wyoming
May
• May 3 - May 5, Opening Week-
end - Gammelgården
• May 4, 4 p.m. - 8 p.m., Lions
Chicken Dinner Benefit,
Community Center
• May 26, Immigrant for a Day -
Gammelgården
• May 27, Memorial Day, Office
Closed
June
• June 12, Farmers Market - Open-
ing Day, Gammelgården
• June 22, Midsommar Dag,
Gammelgården
July
• July 4, Independence Day Holiday,
Office Closed
• July 13, St. Croix Fat Cat Triathlon
August
• August 6, 6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m., Nation-
al Night Out, Community Center
• August 17, Spelmanstamma,
Gammelgården
September
• September 2, Labor Day, Office
Closed
• September 7, Taco Daze Festival
• September 14-15, Marine Art Fair
For more information and a City meeting
calendar, see the website
www.ci.scandia.mn.us.
For Gammelgården events, see:
www.gammelgardenmuseum.org.
Message from the Mayor
APRIL 2019 VOLUME 13, ISSUE 1
CITY OF SCANDIA
Inside this issue:
Road Improvement Project 2
2040 Comprehensive Plan 2
Community Collaborative 2
Recycling Basics 2
Community Calendar 3
Art in Action 3
Codification 3
U of M Tourism Assessment 3
Short Takes 3
Community Calendar 4
A twice-yearly publication for residents of the City of Scandia, Minnesota
Washington County has released the 2019 assessment information for the City
of Scandia. In total, the value of residential properties in Scandia increased by
10.9% over 2018. Of the 2,240 residential parcels assessed, there was a de-
crease in value or no change for 684 of those parcels and increases of 10% or
more in 841 of the parcels. The City Council will meet as the Local Board of
Appeals & Equalization on Monday, April 8th, to hear appeals of property val-
ues. If you have questions in advance of the meeting, you are encouraged to
contact Patrick Poshek, the City’s Assessor, at assessor@gmail.com or
651.430.0360.
2019 Assessments
As I’m writing this letter, we are just ending the snowiest February (39”) in Minnesota history. It has been
a most unusual winter, from the brown Christmas season to February’s extreme whiteness. I’m glad that
here in Scandia we’ve had a number of things to enjoy during this time. Our new Scandia celebration of
Vinterlights! at the Community Center brought together almost 150 neighbors for this first annual kick off
of the holiday season. Then, in January, Vinterfest brought many visitors to Scandia for the Lion’s Pancake
Breakfast and the newly named Minnesotan Cup adult hockey tournament. Once again, I heard compli-
ments from the players who seemed to really enjoy coming to play, as one remarked, good clean hockey
in our small town outdoor setting. And, the chili cook-off at Elim followed by fireworks was a great way to
end the day. Now we can look forward to the sure to be coming spring with its Scandia traditions old and
several new. Two great new additions are a Community Calendar on the Scandia website homepage and the beginning of a
collaboration of Scandia community groups. Read about those new Scandia initiatives in this newsletter. Finally, we are grate-
ful to our state representatives for re-introducing the legislative bills to expedite the extension of the Gateway Trail into down-
town Scandia and also introducing bills that will potentially help Scandia expand its effective broadband service citywide.
Stay tuned.
Remember to nominate your “good neighbor” for recognition. I continue to look forward to meeting with those of you who
stop by the Community Center during Conversations with the Mayor, the first Wednesday of each month, 8:30 – 10:00 a.m. and
4:30 – 6:00 p.m.
Christine Maefsky, Mayor
Citizen Request Management/311 System
The City is working with Qscend to implement a citizen request management system that will be accessible through the City’s
website or a mobile phone application. The system has a self-service portal that will enable residents to accomplish a multi-
tude of tasks, such as searching a knowledge-base for information, check the status of an existing request, or submit a request
for service. The requests are automatically geocoded based on device location so that staff can manage all requests in one
place. The system will be available for use on April 1 and will be expanded based on how the system is being utilized.
Information on the appeals
process and calendar are
available by selecting the
Board of Appeals meeting on
the website City Event Cal-
endar.
Page 2
CITY OF SCANDIA
We know that recycling is good for the
planet and makes us feel good about
doing the right thing, but just because an
item is made out of recyclable material
does not mean it can go in the recycling
cart. Do not recycle plastic shopping
bags or styrofoam products in the
curbside recycling cart. Many grocery
stores accept plastic bags for recycling,
and foam is not easily recyclable and
should go in the trash. Flower pots, plas-
tic toys, window glass, wire, pots and
pans are just some of the problem items
being discarded in the recycling carts.
Used motor oil in screw-top containers
must go beside the cart. Cardboard and
paper must be clean and dry; greasy or
soiled paper spoils an entire load of re-
cyclables. When trash ruins otherwise
good recyclables, recycling contamina-
tion occurs. Once contaminated, recy-
clables can no longer be recycled and
become trash. Please help our waste
haulers by keeping that recycling clean!
Scandia contracts with SRC, Inc. to pro-
vide curbside recycling at no cost to all
Scandia residents. Call SRC today at
651.464.2321 to begin your recycling
service. More information on recycling
can be found on the City’s website.
The City’s 2040 Comprehensive Plan is being reviewed by the Metropolitan Council. Once reviewed by the City Council
and adopted by the City Council, the Plan will be referred to the Planning Commission to recommend changes to the devel-
opment code that are needed to be consistent with the Comprehensive Plan.
2040 Comprehensive Plan
No major road improvement projects are planned for 2019. In 2018, 15.7 miles of roads were repaved, which is 23% of the
City’s paved roads. The charts below show the change in the road ratings from the program. In 2019, the site restoration fr om
the 2018 paving will be completed along with planning for the 2020 road projects that will focus on the roads that are curren tly
listed as being in fair condition.
Road Improvement Project
Recycling Basics
Scandia Area Community Collaborative
On January 19th, representatives from sixteen Scandia area
community groups came together at Gammelgarden to discuss
how they might support each other to best serve the Scandia
area. There was a great deal of excitement and enthusiasm as
each group shared its goals and plans. The general consensus
of those present was that the group should continue to meet
and spread their work. They also generated the idea of having
a community calendar which would be a central place where
the groups’ activities could be shared. Groups represented
include Bone Lake Association, City of Scandia, Cycling Scan-
dia, Elim Church, Farmers Market, Friends of Scandia Parks
and Trails, Gammelgarden, Girl Scouts, Internet Focus Group,
Marine Community Library: Adult and Children’s Program-
ming, Marine Mills Folk School, Scandia Parks and Recreation
Committee, Scandia Heritage Alliance, and Town of May 4-H.
Several other groups were not able to send representatives to
this first meeting but have indicated their interest in being part
of the group going forward.
Page 3
VOLUME 13, ISSUE 1
Scandia Parks and Recreation is sponsoring the Art in Action
summer camp offered through St. Croix Festival Theatre. Par-
ticipants will:
Create, rehearse and perform in an original short play
Design and paint
Create characters and design costumes
Choreograph an original dance
Perform their play for a live audience of family and friends
Dates: August 12-16, Monday
through Friday
8:30 a.m. to Noon at the Com-
munity Center
Cost: $60
Register Online at www.FestivalTheatre.org or by calling
715.483.3387
Scandia residents now have the ability to quickly find out what community events are
happening in and around Scandia. On any given day go to the Community Calendar on
the City’s website homepage; look for a star; if it’s there, click on it and learn about
what is happening. If you select “Read More,” you can easily see all the events
planned for the month. Then select the event for additional information. This new fea-
ture will give us all the opportunity to become even more connected to our great com-
munity.
Community Calendar
Art in Action Summer Camp
Short Takes
Hazardous Materials & Electronics
Washington County will sponsor special
one-day household hazardous waste
collections throughout the county, at no
cost. Nearby collections are scheduled
at the Hugo Public Works Building on
April 13th from 8 a.m. to noon, and at the
Forest Lake Transit Center (enter at
Headwaters Parkway) on June 8th from 8
a.m. to 2 p.m. Paper shredding will be
offered at these events as well.
New! Organics Drop-off at the Envi-
ronmental Center
Washington County residents are now
able to drop-off food scraps, paper tow-
els, and more at the Environmental Cen-
ter in Woodbury. Known as “organics,”
these materials can be recycled into
compost, a valuable resource that im-
proves soil and decreases the need for
fertilizers. This program is separate
from the regular yard waste program for
leaves, grass clippings and brush. Visit
www.co.washington.mn.us/organics or
call 651.275.7475 for more information.
Clean-Up Week
City-Wide Clean-up Week is scheduled
for Saturday, April 27, through Saturday,
May 4, at the SRC/Forest Lake Sanitation
site in Wyoming, MN. Residents may
drop off rubbish items not taken by their
regular trash hauler such as appliances,
tires, furniture, mattresses, scrap metal
and wood at the SRC facility located at
6320 East Viking Boulevard, Wyoming,
MN. During this week, Scandia resi-
dents will receive a 20% discount off
regular collection prices. Be prepared
to show proof of residency such as a
driver’s license. Hours of operation are
8:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Saturdays, and
8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. M—F. Please call
SRC at 651.464.2321 for more infor-
mation. A pricing schedule is posted on
the City’s website.
Codification
The City is working with the League of Minnesota Cities and American Legal Publishing on codifying the City’s ordinances.
Scandia has passed 207 ordinances. Ninety-eight of the ordinances relate to the Development Code, which is updated with
each amendment. Currently, there is no organizational structure for the remaining 109 ordinances. Once codified, the ordi-
nances will be in a single searchable document that will be classified by subject matter. The codification process will be
completed over the coming months.
University of Minnesota Tourism Assessment Program
In 2018, the Scandia Economic Development Authority (EDA) contracted with the University of Minnesota Tourism Center to
conduct a tourism assessment that is intended to inventory local tourism assets, assess tourism assets from local, visitor an d
expert perspectives, uncover opportunities for tourism development, and identify action steps for sustainable tourism de-
velopment. The target date for the release of the assessment report is March 31. The recommendations contained in the
report will serve as a starting point for Scandia to develop its tourism assets.