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2019 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: 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: Ken Cammilleri, Administrator Brenda Eklund, Deputy Clerk Colleen Firkus, Treasurer Brenda “Bee” Stignani, Office Assistant/Parks & Rec Coord 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 Like us on Facebook for the Most Up-to-Date Information Community Calendar, October 2019 - March 2020 October • October 8, Fire Department Open House, 5-7 p.m. • October 13, Lions Pancake Breakfast, 8-11:30 a.m. • October 14, Columbus Day Observed— Office Closed • October 31, Safe Halloween at the Fire Hall, 5-7 p.m. November • November 11, Veterans Day Observed—Office Closed • November 21, Lutefisk & Meatball Dinner, 12-6 p.m., Community Center • November 22, Turkey Bingo, 7 p.m., Community Center • November 28 and 29, Thanksgiv-ing Holiday—Office Closed For more information and a City meet-ing calendar, see: www.ci.scandia.mn.us. December • December 1, Best of Scandia Ven-dor Fair/Vinterlights!, noon-5 p.m. • December 4, 6:30 p.m. Public Hearing, 2020 City Budget and Tax Levy • December 8, Lucia Dagen, Gammelgarden • December 14, Lions Community Breakfast, 8-11:30 a.m. • December 24 and 25, Christmas Holiday—Office Closed January • January 1, New Year’s Day--Office Closed • January 20, Martin Luther King Day— Office Closed • January 25, Vinterfest • January 25, Lions Pancake Break-fast, 8-11:30 a.m. February • February 17, Presidents’ Day— Office Closed • February 29, Fireball March • March 8, Daylight Savings Time Begins PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID Scandia, MN 55073 PERMIT #6 Message from the Mayor OCTOBER 2019 VOLUME 13, ISSUE 2 CITY OF SCANDIA Inside this issue: Internet Expansion 2 Lilleskogen: StoryWalk 2 Vinterlights! 2 Safe Halloween Party 2 Ordinance Violations 3 2019 Scandia F1 Tornado 3 It’s That Time of the Year Again 3 Vinterfest 3 Community Needs Assessment 3 Community Calendar 4 A twice-yearly publication for residents of the City of Scandia, Minnesota Ken Cammilleri recently joined Scandia as its newest City Adminis- trator on October 1st. He has 10 years of local government experi- ence and most recently served as City Administrator for Pine City from 2015-2018, before leaving the field briefly to take care of a family member. Ken brings experience in zoning administration, municipal finance, and general government administration as well as many oth- er areas of city operations. “I am excited to live and work in Scan- dia,” stated Cammilleri. “…This city presents exciting opportunities and some very interest- ing challenges that are a real exciting draw for me. I am enthusiastically look- ing forward to what we will be able to achieve together as a communi- ty.” City Announces New City Administrator Being part of a farm family, my life often focuses on weather. Making hay while the sun shines is more than a slogan for us. Well, making hay this year in Scandia has been more than a little chal- lenging as we’ve experienced considerably more than our usual rainfall as well as the extreme power of mother nature in the tornado that swept through the northwest part of the city in late Ju- ly. That storm and its aftermath reminded us both of how damaging nature can be, and also of how a community can draw together to support one another at such a time. As we now move into the late fall and winter season, we look forward on a brighter note to the continuation of our gath- ering together as a community with our second annual Vinterlights! celebration on the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend and to Vinterfest in January. I look forward to seeing you there. Be sure to regularly check our city website www.ci.scandia.mn.us for news of more events taking place. I continue to look forward to meeting with those of you who stop by the Heritage Room during Conversations with the Mayor, the first Wednesday of each month, 8:30 – 10:00 and 4:30 – 6:00. Enjoy the seasons ahead. Christine Maefsky, Mayor Awards The City of Scandia received two grants this last year. One from the DNR and a SHIP grant through Wash- ington County. The DNR grant is focused on removal of invasive species in Lilleskogen Park and is a three-year grant. There are annual stages of removal practic- es and a final stage of native species reintroduction. The SHIP grant is an annual grant aimed at promoting recreational op- portunities and wellness in communi- ties within Minnesota. The grant’s focus this year was on creating an inviting environment for cyclists vis- iting Scandia. The City of Scandia is very excited to have received these opportunities and appreciates the partnerships. Page 2 CITY OF SCANDIA Scandia’s City Council voted to apply for Minnesota’s DEED Grant Program to fund the expansion of high - speed, reliable Internet. DEED grants have been avail- able every year except one since 2014. After analyzing three Internet Service Providers, Scan- dia chose Midco as its strategic partner. Last month we jointly applied for a DEED grant from the State of Min- nesota to help fund the project. The Council’s decision was based on Midco providing high -speed, reliable Internet to 44% of the City and Midco’s willingness to fund a substantial portion of our future expansion. Frontier can still challenge Scandia’s grant application, but we won’t know until the middle of October. If awarded, the grant will wire 219 homes and provide speeds of 1000 Mbps down / 100 Mbps up. Phase two consists of wiring three towers in Scandia to provide another 175 homes with fixed wireless service of 100 Mbps down / 20 Mbps up. The Council is forming a new, official Internet Action Committee to provide high-speed, reliable Internet to every home and business in Scandia. The Committee will also focus on finding other grants and funding pro- grams to help the City pay for the expansion to lessen the cost to taxpayers. On Thursday, October 31, 2019 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM, the Scandia Fire and Rescue Department will hold a fun family event for all ages. Activities will include a large bonfire, games, hot dogs & hot chocolate. Co-sponsors are the Scandia Marine Lions Club, Elim Lutheran Church and Helke Tree Service. Location: Scandia Fire Hall, 15040 Scandia Trail (Highway 97.) For more information call 651 433-4383. Internet Expansion An exciting new project highlights Scandia Elementary and its creative students. Scandia’s Parks and Recre- ation Committee developed a new program in collaboration with the students at Lilleskogen Park. The students are writing stories and working on science projects for dis- play on six outdoor stands along the walking path through the park. Scandia Elementary’s first grade classes wrote and beautifully illus- trated the first and current project. This project teaches about the life cycle of the monarch butterfly. The Parks and Recreation Committee and Scandia Elementary plan to change the story every month, year-round for your reading and walking pleas- ure. Please come, bring your chil- dren or grandchildren and stroll the path, learn, and admire the creative work of our students. The name Lilleskogen means “the little forest” in Swedish. The park is also home to the Veteran’s Memorial. It’s located at the corner of Oakhill Road and Hwy 97. A ribbon cutting ceremony took place on Wednesday, Oct. 9th. It cel- ebrated the children of the first grade classes of Scandia Elementary. Also attending were the teachers and Principal, members of the Park and Recreation Committee, the Mayor and members of City Council. Lilleskogen: StoryWalk Vinterlights! Safe Halloween Party Scandia will again be celebrating the start of the holi- day season with Vinterlights!, a gathering to highlight our ever-growing sense of community. Planned for late afternoon on December 1st, the Sunday of Thanks- giving weekend, all Scandia families, friends and neighbors are invited to once again gather at the Com- munity Center for a lighting up of the Center, of Gam- melgarden Museum, Elim Church, the cemetery, area businesses, and our snowflake lamp post lights. There will be Dala Horse and Snowflake cookies brought to you by good folks of the Bone Lake Association, and hot chocolate provided by the Lions. Following the lighting there will be a bonfire and singing of seasonal music. This year, from noon until 5:00 preceding the Vinter- lights! celebration, an arts and crafts fair will be held at the Community Center. Be sure to enjoy your holiday shopping with the unique fare of local artisans and crafters. Page 3 VOLUME 13, ISSUE 2 Scandia is considering refurbishing and updating its Community Center with an eye toward its present and future use. The building has seen few improvements since it was built in the 1980s. Updating and redesigning the Community Center is seen as a way to help invigorate the Village Center, support the use of current businesses there, and draw in new businesses that support Scandia’s vision for its future. Based on the recommendation of a city appointed Community Center Committee, the city council has authorized an RFP for a Commu- nity Center feasibility study and needs analysis to best determine the scope of the project. Results from the study are expected to be available in the spring. Community Center Needs Assessment Be Mindful of the Regulations It’s That Time of Year Again Winter is on the horizon , time to evaluate your mailbox and the City’s right of way. If your mailbox is in need of repair, consider re- placing the post with a swing-arm style support. There are many dif- ferent styles on the market. Detailed specifications are avail- able on the City’s website or at https://www.usps.com/manage/ know-mailbox-guidelines.htm which shows the proper installa- tion instructions for a mailbox. The homeowner is responsible for damaged mailboxes due to snow removal efforts if they are not in- stalled at the proper height and set- backs noted in the guidelines. Make sure no obstructions are in the right of way that a plow driver might hit when pushing back wind rows. This includes landscap- ing, trash and recycling carts. No parking within the road right of way. Vehicles can become hidden by the snow and drivers may not see them. Lastly, make sure not to deposit snow or ice within the right of way or push snow across streets. It creates a hazard for traffic and City staff; and it is against the law. Your cooperation will be greatly appreciated and make plowing the roads more effective and safer. 2019 Scandia F1 Tornado With the arrival of Autumn, it's time to consider the storage of seasonal items. Complying with ordinances avoids these typical violations from citizen complaints:  Unlicensed, not running cars and trucks  Too many recreational items (including campers/RV's, boats, snowmobiles, ATVs)  Excess number of small storage sheds  Construction equipment (including backhoes or bobcats and/or their attachments)  Trash  Extra trailers  Other violations involve animals. Too many for the lot size, too loud or roving The Scandia Parks and Recrea- tion Committee is sponsoring Vinterfest 2020 on Saturday Janu- ary 25. Vinterfest is an annual celebration of winter fun for the whole family! Held at the Scan- dia Community Center, events include the Minnesota Cup Hockey tourney, crafts, fire- works, beer garden, chili cook- off, Kubb (check it out if you have never seen it!), kids snow sculpture contest, and more! Save the date! Please stay aware. Your neigh- bors may thank you. Vinterfest 2020 January 25 Check website for details On July 28, 2019, an F-1 tornado struck the NW portion of Scandia in the Bone Lake area. The Scandia Fire Department was first on the scene to assess the damages and needs for services. The initial week of tree clean-up from the storm was a cooperative support effort between Washington County Public Works, STS crews from Washington County and the City of Scandia Public Works De- partment. After two and a half weeks, approxi- mately 165 loads of tree debris were hauled off site to burn piles and as chipped material. The City of Scandia and the Public Works staff would like to thank all those who participated in the effort to clean up after the storm.