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2020 October - Fall Newsletter 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: Monday thru Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. City Council: Christine Maefsky, Mayor 651.433.2684 Patti Ray 612.812.5590 Jerry Cusick 651.433.5865 Chris Ness 651.707.5689 Steve Kronmiller 651.538.0094 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: Ken Cammilleri, Administrator Brenda Eklund, City Clerk Colleen Firkus, Treasurer Brenda “Bee” Stignani, Office Assist, Parks & Rec Coord Adam Hawkinson, Director of Public Works Mike Hinz, Fire Chief Chris Nelson, Attorney Eckberg Lammers Ryan Goodman, Engineer Bolton & Menk Evan Monson, Planner, TKDA PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID Scandia, MN 55073 PERMIT #6 Like us on Facebook for the Most Up-to-Date Information Tell us what you think and take our Community Survey! Hello Scandia residents and business owners! As many of you know, the City of Scandia is revising its Zon- ing and Land Use Ordinanc- es. These City standards govern how property in Scandia is used and how it looks. The City wants to hear from YOU. What are your perspectives on Scan- dia today and how do you think Scandia could be im- proved? Your answers to the survey will help the City make de- cisions that will guide the development and redevel- opment of land in Scandia. Do you think current lot sizes create the neighbor- hood character you want? Do you think the size and number of accessory build- ings (garages, sheds, etc.) people have is reasonable? Do you like how properties – commercial, industrial, residential – look? Are there common complaints about properties in your neighborhood? Are there improvements to the Vil- lage center that you would like to see? The survey should take about 10 minutes to answer – though you might want to walk around your neighbor- hood first to help you an- swer some of the questions! The survey is anonymous, so you do not have to worry when you tell us exactly what you think! In the sur- vey we ask you to tell us a little bit about yourself – such as the kind of neigh- borhood you live in – are you in the Village Center? On an agricultural proper- ty? In a residential area where lots are 1-5 acres? Do you work or own a business in Scandia? Your answers will help us ensure that the survey results represent a cross section of our commu- nity, but rest assured no answer to the survey will be linked to an individual. The survey can be found on the City’s website, and on the project website at www.ScandiaZoning.com. Instructions on how to take the survey and deadline for your response can be found here. Also, make sure to follow the project website for future opportunities to give us your feedback on the Zoning Update project. If you would prefer to fill out a paper copy of the survey, please contact the City Hall and we will get you a paper copy. Thank you for your help, and we look forward to hearing from you! PS – Feel free to have all members of your household fill out the survey, we know sometimes families have different perspectives! OCTOBER 2020 VOLUME 14, ISSUE 2 CITY OF SCANDIA Internet Expansion Update 2 2021 Tax Levy 2 Parks & Recreation Survey 2 Yard Waste 2 Election Information 3 Short Takes 3 Zoning Survey 4 A twice-yearly publication for residents of the City of Scandia, Minnesota Message From the Mayor We are living through a year few of us ever imagined. From ongoing health and wellness concerns to the present economic damages to the social and emotional weight on each of us. These are truly extraordinary times that would have been hard, if not impossi- ble, to predict. I am very thankful to our Scandia residents who have written to me and called me, sharing their concerns about the current situation. It is so important that we keep an open dialogue about the challenging issues we face. When we come together, when we communicate, when we support each other and when we work together, we find solutions that move us forward in the best possible ways. I would like to highlight some of the positive things that have shown themselves during this time and give me hope for a brighter future here in Scandia. We have new businesses in town - Apothecary’s Daughter in the Village Center, Rustic Roots Winery on our eastern edge and the unique Better Place Forests just west of Big Marine Lake. The Scandia Heritage Alli- ance, a local non-profit group, is moving forward with plans to resurrect the old Water Tower Barn for use as a community arts and heritage center, as well as for establishing a Historic Sites Trail throughout the city. A new environmental trail has been established just north of Bone Lake, and The Children's Story Path through Lilleskogen continues to engage our youth and draw visitors. A number of spring/summer traditions returned, even if at scaled back sizes, with sports team games and the Scandia Farmers Market. We celebrated Cinnamon Bun Day in Scandia (and Sweden) again in early October. We’ll have to wait and see what the winter will bring, but hopefully it will include holiday lights and cheer to signify that better days have arriv ed. Keep in touch. Christine Maefsky Mayor Inside This Issue: The City, through its Internet Action Commit- tee, is working diligently to provide High Speed Internet coverage to the citizens of Scandia. We believe the quickest way to lower costs for ex- pansion is by leveraging grants from the Federal government, the State, and the City in combination with funding from our local service pro- viders to expand the infrastructure our community needs to be served. Our goal is to obtain at least 1 Gig Down (1000 Mbps) and 20 Mbps Up to wherever it is financially practical first. Areas with significantly higher construction costs will come later and may require a combination of wired and wireless solutions to achieve our goal of 100% of house- holds served. The City’s goal is to seek financially viable solutions without increasing taxes or, to at least have a minimal impact on taxes. Studies have shown that commu- nities that have made exceedingly large investments in internet infra- structure to serve communities with- low household densities have been found to be unsustainable and im- posed serious burdens on taxpay- ers. By working with existing com- munity internet providers, who al- ready have networks that cover a substantial area of our community, we can keep expansion costs to a reasonable level, avoid unnecessary financial risks, and still deploy High Speed Internet throughout Scandia in the shortest timeframe. Scandia has a household density of less than 50 homes per square mile. Combined with challenging terrain, our community is presented with significant obstacles. However, we remain optimistic of reaching our goal to see Scandia’s Internet ex- pansion successfully conclude the entire City served by the end of 2024. Scandia Internet Expansion Plan In the interest of public safety, the City of Scandia will not host Vinterfest 2021. Along with all of our sponsors, participants and residents, we hope Vinterfest 2022 will be bigger and better than ever! Page 2 CITY OF SCANDIA One year ago the City Council ap- proved a grant application to expand high speed Internet service in Scan- dia. The grant from the Minnesota office of Broadband Development was ap- proved early this year. The project construction began in July and when completed in November will bring Gigabit Speed Internet to an addi- tional 255 households on top of the ex- isting 792 households already served by MidCo. After this phase of the ex- pansion project is finished, 1,047 house- holds out of 1,800 (58%) will be served. The cost of this phase is $1,020,718. The State’s share (grant) was $510,359, MidCo’s share was $350,274, and Scandia’s share was $160,085. To see the current status of the project visit this website: https:// www.midco.com/about/service -areas/ scandia/ On September 15, 2020, the City Coun- cil committed to another grant with Mid- Co as partners. If this DEED grant appli- cation is successful, an additional 79 households will be served when that phase is completed in late 2021. This phase is estimated at $322,019. The State’s share is $66,218, MidCo’s is $100,801 and Scandia’s share is $165,000. The City opted for a higher contribution for less households in or- der to improve the likelihood of a grant award due to anticipated increase in applications due to COVID-19. We will know the results of the application later this year. There is also a possibility that MidCo is looking at a federal grant for our ar- ea. This is part of the FCC’s Rural Digi- tal Opportunities Fund (RDOF). We will not know the results of this process until later this year as well. When new information is available on Scandia’s Internet Expansion Project, its internet expansion plan and other infor- mation on expansion efforts are regular- ly posted on the City’s website, https:// www.ci.scandia.mn.us , under the ‘Internet Action’ tab. The City’s financial expenses related to internet expansion efforts so far are: Year 2020 - $160,085 was dedi- cated to the 2020 Midco build -out (summarized above). Year 2021 - $165,000 was set aside for a grant, if award- ed, for a Midco Buildout in 2021. 2021 Tax Levy Scandia residents may bring leaves, grass clippings and tree waste to the Northern Yard Waste Site located at 5527 170th Street North in Hugo. Find more information at www.co.washington.mn.us/ yardwaste or call 651 275-7475. The City of Scandia Parks and Recreation Committee is looking for your input on playground equipment updates planned for the next few years! The current playground equipment near the Community Center and the Wayne Erickson Memorial Ball Field are reaching their end of life use and will need to be replaced. If you are a parent, grandparent, or other caregiver of children in our com- munity we want to make sure we provide playground equipment that suit the needs of the children in your care. The Parks and Recreation Committee is issuing this community engagement survey to solicit your ideas for new playground equipment: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/TRGC3LP The City set a preliminary levy for 2021 at $2,613,824, which was a $183, 878 in- crease over 2020. This is an- ticipated to have an estimated City tax rate of 31.64%. This is an estimated 0.17% in- crease over 2020. More details about the budg- et can be obtained by visiting the City’s website or contact- ing City Hall by calling 651- 433-2274 or emailing mail@ci.scandia.mn.us. The levy and tax rate have been both preliminarily adopted. The City can lower this amount and may consider this at or before its Truth-In- Taxation meeting Wednes- day, December 2, 2020 at 6:30pm. This meeting is in- tended to give members of the public the opportunity to comment and provide feed- back on the City’s budget and levy. Those who wish to par- ticipate may do so, either remotely, by computer or phone, or in person at the Scandia Community Center at the time of the meeting. Those who wish to participate remotely are encouraged to contact City Hall by email at mail@ci.scandia.mn.us or by phone at 651-433-2274 to ob- tain invite information. Scandia Internet Expansion Update – Fall 2020 Yard Waste Short Takes Page 3 VOLUME 12, ISSUE 2 • Please meet our crews at the door and wear a mask if at all possible, for all 911 emergency calls • Mark your driveway or mailbox with at least 2” re- flective numbers (visible from either direction) for fire, police & ambulance public safety members to quickly find your home in the event of an emergen- cy. Additional markings are needed for shared driveways and mailbox clusters. See City Ordi- nance 152.20 on the city’s website for specifications of identification (https://www.ci.scandia.mn.us/) • Driveways must be accessible to fire engines. These trucks must have a clear path for travel that is 12’ wide by 14’ tall. Tree branches cause damage to vehicles responding to your home in times of crisis • Watch for upcoming information on Fire prevention & safe Halloween activities (website, Facebook, Nextdoor) • Everyone be Safe As winter approaches, please consid- er replacing damaged mailboxes with a swing-arm style support. Detailed specifications are availa- ble on the City’s website (Snow & Ice Control) showing proper instal- lation instructions. Homeowners are responsible for dam- aged mailboxes due to snow removal efforts on all incorrectly installed mail- boxes. Remove all obstructions in the right of way for Snow Plow Drivers: • landscaping • RECYCLING CARTS • GARGAGE CARTS • Vehicles (hidden in drifts or snow spray) • Deposits of snow or ice All Scandia residents vote at the Com- munity Center, 14727 209th Street North. Polls open at 7:00 a.m. and close at 8:00 p.m. Masks are re- quired, hand sanitizer is provided at the entrance, social distancing will be encouraged, and disinfecting of shared surfaces will occur throughout the day. For voters unable to enter the Community Center, curbside vot- ing is offered where a voter can vote while in a vehicle outside the polling location. This also is offered at all ear- ly voting sites. Early Voting Now Underway— In- person absentee voting runs through Nov. 2 at five locations across Wash- ington County, the nearest being the Headwaters Service Center in Forest Lake and the Government Center in Stillwater, Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and on Saturday, October 31st 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Absen- tee ballots are available at any of he five Washington County early voting sites, NOT at the city office. Residents may also request that a ballot be mailed to them. Voters may apply for an absentee ballot online at mnvotes.org or call Washington County Elections at 651-430-6175 to have the application mailed. Voters are encouraged to submit absentee ballot applications early. As an alternative to mailing your ballot back to Washington Coun- ty, Ballot Drop Off will be con- ducted by the County: To drop off other voter’s ballots, you must show a photo ID and sign a log. September 18 - November 2: Ballots can be dropped off at any of the five Washington County early voting sites. On Election Day, November 3, voted absentee ballots can be dropped off only at the Washington County Gov- ernment Center before 3PM. Absentee ballots cannot be dropped off at Scandia City Hall. For city offices, Scandia will elect a Mayor and two City Council mem- bers. Candidates for city offices in the order they appear on the ballot are— Mayor: Randall F. Simonson, Christine Maefsky Council member: James Gribble, Heather Benson, Christopher Johnson, Steve Kronmiller, Greg Amundson For more election information includ- ing sample ballots, along with links to downloadable registration and ab- sentee ballot application forms, please see the City website at www.ci.scandia.mn.us and click “Residents” on the home page and then select “Election Information”. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3 Scandia Fire & Rescue Saturday, October 31 • 1:00-2:30 p.m. Sponsored by the Scandia-Marine Lions Club and the City of Scandia. To enter a vehicle in the parade and/or volunteer to help with the parade, go to the Scandia-Marine Lions’ website, www.scandiamarinelions.org/ Due to COVID-19, no candy or treats will be thrown from any of the vehicles. Kids - wear your costumes and wave to the cars as they pass by! CAR PARADE PRIZES $50, $75, and $100 • Best theme • Most spirited • Most creative All car parade participants will receive a treat bag.Those watching the parade are encouraged to donate nonperishable food to the food shelf at Elim Lutheran Church, glasses for the Lions’ vi- sion program, and/or cash/check donations to support the Lions’ local programs and fami- lies in need. Lions in the last vehicle in the parade will collect these items. Halloween Car Parade and Food & Glasses Collection Drive October 31 * 5-7 pm, Safe Halloween Event at the Scandia Fire Station Scandia-Marine Lions providing food, and candy will be handed out. Mask & social distancing required