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2016 April - Spring Newsletter CITY OF SCANDIA Dedicated to Rural Community Values City of Scandia Scandia Community/ Senior Center 14727 209TH Street N. Scandia, MN 55073 Phone: 651.433.2274 Fax: 651.433.5112 E-mail: mail@ci.scandia.mn.us CITY COUNCIL: Randall Simonson, Mayor 651.538.4320 Dan Lee 651.433.4309 Chris Ness 651.707.5689 Jim Schneider 651.433.3692 Bob Hegland 651.538.2129 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 Dave Williams, Public Works Director Mike Hinz, Fire Chief Andy Pratt, Attorney Eckberg Lammers Ryan Goodman, Engineer Bolton & Menk Sherri Buss, Planner, TKDA PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID Scandia, MN 55073 PERMIT #6 Community Calendar, April 2016—September, 2016 April  April 11, 5 p.m. Board of Appeal and Equalization, Community Center Board Room.  April 24, Minnesota Ironman Bicycle Ride  April 29-30, May 1: Gammelgar- den Opening Weekend; Celebration of Hemslojden: Blade and Hammer  April 30-May 7, Spring Cleanup Collection Week, SRC, Wyoming May  May 7, 4 p.m. - 8 p.m. Lions Chick- en Dinner Benefit, Community Center  May 29, Immigrant for a Day; Gammelgarden  May 30, Memorial Day, Office Closed June  June 8, Opening Day -Scandia Farmers Market (3:30-6:30 pm); Runs June 8-September 28  June 21, 1 p.m. - 7 p.m. Bloodmobile at Community Center  June 25, Midsommar Dag, Gammelgården July  July 4, Independence Day, Office Closed  July 9, St. Croix Fat Cat Triathlon August  August 2, 6 p.m. - 7 p.m. National Night Out, Community Center  August 20, Spelmanstamma, Gammelgården September  September 5, Labor Day, Office Closed  September 10, Taco Daze Festival  September 17-18, Marine Art Fair SUMMER RECREATION BROCHURE INSIDE For more information and a City meeting calendar, see the website www.ci.scandia.mn.us. For Gammelgården events, see: http://www.gammelgardenmuseum.org. Like us on Facebook for Up-to-Date Information Broadband Services To Expand APRIL 2016 VOLUME 10, ISSUE 1 CITY OF SCANDIA Inside This Issue: Filings Open for City Offices 2 Election Judges Needed 2 Clip and Save Elections Calendar 2 Recycling 3 Spring Cleanup Week 3 Hazardous Materials and Electronics 3 Short Takes 3 Community Calendar 4 Frontier has accepted a $27,551,363 grant to expand and support its broadband services throughout their Minnesota service area from the federal Connect America program. This program will enable Frontier to partner with the FCC to upgrade broadband services. Upgrades in their entire Scandia exchange are scheduled to be completed in 2016. These projects will result in upgrading four existing remote serving offices and adding 10 new serving offices to reach Scandia customers. Once completed, customers served by these new devices will receive the minimum internet services of 10 Mps download and 1 Mps upload with faster speeds available if the customer chooses. A twice-yearly publication for residents of the City of Scandia, Minnesota Every year there are thousands of fraudulently filed taxes just in MN that the IRS deals with. The sooner your taxes are filed, the less of a chance criminals have to file under your name. With that, there are thousands of fraudulent phone calls claim- ing to be the IRS. The phone calls are automated and state the IRS is filing suit against you and, if you don’t pay a certain amount of back taxes, there will be a warrant out for your arrest. The IRS will never call anyone. If payment, or further information is needed, the IRS will only contact you through a letter. If there are any questions, call the Washington County Sheriff’s Office at 651.439.9381 to report the inci- dent or your tax service for further information. Always remember to keep your houses and vehicles locked when not home. Try not to have important information or money mailed or sent to your house. Be sure to always report suspicious people, vehicles and activity by calling 911 immediately. For further information or questions, email me, Deputy Brandon Yetter, at Brandon.Yetter@co.washington.mn.us. Message From The Deputy Summer of Road Construction Reconstruction – Scheduled for reconstruction dur- ing the summer will be 236TH Street, 237TH Street, Novak Avenue and portions of Oldfield Avenue from 240TH Street and south. Sealcoating and crack-filling – Scheduled for maintenance this summer are Oakhill Court, Olinda Lane, Oland Avenue, Oren Road, Ostrum Avenue, Parrish Road, Pomroy Avenue, Penfield Avenue, Peabody Trail, 197TH Street, 197TH Street Court, 213TH Street, 215TH Street and 220TH Street. Washington County will be adding a turning lane at the intersection of Lofton Avenue and Scandia Trail (Hwy 97). Construction is expected to start in early May with completion within 5 to 6 weeks. Washington County will be adding a left turn lane on southbound Manning Trail into the Big Marine Park Reserve. Construction is expected to start in early May with completion within 4 to 5 weeks. MN DOT will be working on Hwy 8 from TH 95 to Taylors Falls starting this spring and lasting into the fall. While TH 97 is not on the car or truck traffic detour, increased traffic on TH 97 should be expected. Filings Open for City Offices August 2, 2016 Page 2 CITY OF SCANDIA Scandia will elect a Mayor and two City Council Mem- bers at the November 8 general election. The Mayor serves a two-year term, and Council Members serve four-year terms. The terms of Mayor Simonson and Council Members Lee and Ness end in 2016. Filing opens Tuesday, August 2, 2016 and ends on Tuesday, August 16, 2016. Office hours for filing are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, and will be open until 5 p.m. on the last day of the filing period. Candidates must file an Affidavit of Candidacy, signed in the presence of a notary, with the City Clerk and pay a $2 filing fee. The filing fee is waived if a petition is submitted containing 500 signatures of eli- gible voters, or 2% of the number of persons who voted in the last election for that office, whichever is less. Candidates are placed on the ballot without party designation. Candidates may withdraw from the election by filing an Affidavit of Withdrawal with the City Clerk not later than 5 p.m. on Thursday, August 18, 2016. Filing fees are not refundable. Qualifications for candidates are:  Eligible voter  At least 21 years of age when assuming office  Resident of the City for thirty days preceding the General Election (November 8, 2016)  Has not filed for another office in the same election Compensation for Scandia City Council Members is currently (2016):  Mayor: $3,882.96 annually  Council Member: $3,148.38 annually Election Judges Needed During the Primary and General Elections, Scandia will need election judges to staff the local polling place, administer election procedures, and ensure that the rights of voters are protected on Election Day. Serving as an election judge provides an opportunity to learn more about the election process and serve the community. With advance notice, employers must allow workers time off to serve as election judges. Qualifications for serving include being eligible to vote in Minnesota, being fluent in English, and completing a two-hour training session (scheduled for July 12, 2016). Election judges need to be able to communicate clearly with voters, pay attention to detail, and enjoy helping others. Election judges are paid an hourly wage of $9. Would you like to serve? Call the City office at 651.433.2274 no later than Thursday, June 9. Friday, June 24— Absentee voting begins for Primary Election through Monday, August 8 Tuesday, July 19, 5 p.m.— Last day to pre- register for Primary Election. After this date, register at the polls on Election Day Tuesday, August 2— Filings for Mayor and City Council races open through Tuesday, August 16 at 5 p.m. Monday, August 8, 5 p.m.— Absentee voting for Primary Election closes Tuesday, August 9, 7 a.m.-8 p.m.— Primary Election Day Thursday, August 18, 5 p.m.–-Deadline to withdraw filings for Mayor and Council Friday, September 23— Absentee voting be- gins for General Election, through Monday, November 7 Tuesday, October 18, 5 p.m.— Last date to pre-register for General Election. After this date, register at the polls on Election Day Monday, November 7, 5 p.m.— Absentee voting for General Election closes Tuesday, November 8, 7 a.m.-8 p.m.— General Election Day CLIP AND SAVE — 2016 Elections Calendar Recycling: Make a Difference Short Takes Spring Cleanup Week Page 3 VOLUME 10, ISSUE 1 LOG HOUSE LANDING IMPROVEMENTS The City, Carnelian-Marine-St. Croix Watershed District, DNR, and National Park Service are working together on the reconstruction of the boat landing at Log House Landing. Construction is anticipat- ed to begin in early fall. ZAVORAL MINE SHIFTS TO RECLAMATION PHASE The City approved the annual oper- ating permit for the Zavoral mine. As a part of the review process, it was noted that the mining is sub- stantially complete and efforts for 2016 will be focused on restoration of the site. SCANDIA ON THE GROW Building permit activity was on the grow in 2015. A total of 197 per- mits were issued for an increase in valuation of $8,600,000. This is an increase from 2014 when 147 per- mits were issued with a value of $5,200,000. SOLAR GARDENS ON THE HORIZON Through Xcel Energy’s Minnesota Solar*Rewards Community pro- gram, customers have an oppor- tunity to purchase locally generated solar power. In 2015, the City of Scandia enacted an ordinance allowing solar gardens. There have been 3 applications to construct community solar gardens in Scandia that are being reviewed by the Planning Commission. Sub- scriptions to solar gardens are available from a number of opera- tors with facilities in Washington County or adjacent counties. CITY UPDATES AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Residents can sign up on the City’s website to receive e-mail updates on City Council agendas, City news and announcements, Parks and Recreation programs, and the Zavoral mining and reclamation project. Just select “E-mail Updates” from the website’s home page. City-Wide Cleanup Week is scheduled for Saturday, April 30, through Saturday, May 7, 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, mattress- es, scrap metal and wood. The SRC facility is located at 6320 East Viking Boulevard, Wyoming, MN. Elec- tronics and hazardous waste will not be accepted as a part of this program. 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 a.m. to noon on Saturdays, and 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Please call SRC at 651. 464.2321 for more information. A pricing schedule is posted on the City’s website. Minnesotans are among the best recyclers in the country, and our region strongly believes in recycling. But, there are still people who don’t recycle. Scandia has contracted with SRC to provide residents with a single - sort recycling cart, at no charge, even if regular trash service is with another company. Most plastics, paper, glass bottles, and metal food and beverage cans can be recycled through the curbside recycling program. Call SRC at 651.464.2321 for more details. Every ton of paper that is recycled saves 17 trees! Some items can’t be recycled at home, but they are accepted at other programs, such as batteries, electronics and pro- pane tanks. RethinkRecycling.com has an easy-to-use guide to help citizens recycle more at home, at work, or on the go. Download the “Know What to Throw Guide” and recycle with confidence! Hazardous Materials and 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 30TH from 8 a.m. to noon, and at the Forest Lake Transit Center (enter at Headwaters Parkway) on June 4TH from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. See the county website for more information. Go to https://www.co.washington.mn.us/ envirocenter and click on Household Hazardous Waste Events.