2014 April - Spring Newsletter
City of Scandia
Scandia Community/
Senior Center
14727 209th St. N.
Scandia, MN 55073
Phone: 651.433.2274
Fax: 651.433.5112
E-mail:
mail@ci.scandia.mn.us
Hours: Mon. thru Fri.
9 to Noon & 1 to 4
(except Tues. open
until 6)
Community Calendar, April 2014—September, 2014
Dedicated to Rural Community Values
We’re on the web!
www.ci.scandia.mn.us
and Facebook
Household
Scandia, MN 55073
City Council:
Randall Simonson, Mayor
651.538.4320
Dan Lee
651.433.4309
Chris Ness
651.707.5689
Jim Schneider
651.433.3692
Sally Swanson
651.433.3010
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:
Kristina Handt,
Administrator
Brenda Eklund,
Deputy Clerk
Colleen Firkus, Treasurer
Tim Kieffer, Director of
Public Works
Mike Hinz, Fire Chief
Nick Vivian, Attorney
Eckberg Lammers
Ryan Goodman, Engineer
Sherri Buss, Planner, TKDA
PRSRT STD
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Scandia, MN 55073
PERMIT #6
July
July 4, Independence Day, Office Closed
July 12, St. Croix Fat Cat Triathalon
August
August 5, 6 p.m. - 7 p.m. National Night Out,
Community Center
August 12, Primary Election Day
August 16, Spelmanstamma, Gammelgården
September
September 1, Labor Day, Office Closed
September 5-6 Taco Daze Festival
September 20-21 Marine Art Fair
For more information and a City meeting calendar, see
the website www.ci.scandia.mn.us.
For Gammelgården events, see:
http://www.gammelgardenmuseum.org.
April
April 7, 5 p.m. Board of Appeal and Equaliza-
tion, Community Center Board Room.
April 26 - May 3 Spring Clean-up Collection
Week, SRC, Wyoming
April 27, Minnesota Ironman Bicycle Ride
May
May 3, 4 p.m. - 8 p.m. Lions Chicken Dinner
Benefit, Fire Hall
May 17, 6 a.m. - 2 p.m. PTO Fun Run
May 26, Memorial Day, Office Closed
June
June 21, Midsommar Dag, Gammelgården
June 24, 1 p.m. - 7 p.m. Bloodmobile at
Community Center
June 11- Sept.24, 4 p.m. - 7 p.m. Wednesdays
Scandia Farmers Market, Gammelgården
Summer Recreation Brochure Inside!
The Scandia Economic Development Authority (EDA) is making the expansion of broadband services to
residents and businesses in Scandia a top priority. Broadband is a high speed Internet access that is more
reliable and faster than the traditional dial-up service. It’s an important component to the quality of life offered in our community. Broadband not only helps attract and retain businesses but also assists in areas of
education, healthcare, public safety and more. As many of us know, even in our leisure time we’re using
more electronic devices and the need for high speed Internet access is crucial.
The Scandia EDA recently received approval for technical assistance from the Blandin Foundation’s
Community Broadband Resources Program. They started by reviewing coverage maps available on the Connect Minnesota website. While the maps showed most of the City had access to Internet, the Board
questioned the reliability of the maps. Therefore, the EDA is requesting help from Scandia residents and
businesses to provide better data to share with the broadband providers.
In addition to having service available in your area, the EDA is also striving to have quality services available.
In 2010 the state legislature established goals for universal access and high speed deployment by 2015. The
state goal for broadband services is 10 mbps download and six mbps upload. There are still homes in Scandia
that do not meet these goals.
There are plans to extend cable and broadband services to the
Sand Lake Overlook Development along Oxboro Ave and 197th
St. this summer. But, the EDA needs your input to convince the
providers to extend services into other neighborhoods.
Please complete our short survey by May 1st on broad-
band services available at your home or Scandia business.
A link to the survey is available on our website
(www.ci.scandia.mn.us) or stop by City Hall M, W-F, 9
a.m.-4 p.m., T-9 a.m.-6 p.m. and pick up a paper copy.
Be sure to include your address on the survey so we know where
the services are needed. The EDA will work with the providers
to prioritize service areas.
Anyone with questions can contact City Staff at 651.433.2274 or k.handt@ci.scandia.mn.us
Thank you in advance for helping us!
EDA MAKES BROADBAND A TOP
PRIORITY IN 2014
Inside this issue:
Filings for City
Offices Open July
29
2
2014 Election
Information
2
New Public
Works Staff
3
Clean-Up Week 3
Short Takes 3
Community
Calendar
4
A TWICE-YEARLY
PUBLICATION
FOR RESIDENTS
OF THE CITY OF
SCANDIA,
MINNESOTA
April, 2014 Volume 8, Issue 1
Internet connection got you down? The Economic Development Authority
is looking at broadband options and needs your input.
Filings Open for City Offices July 29, 2014
Page 2
Scandia will elect a Mayor and two City Council
Members at the November 4 General Election.
The Mayor serves a two-year term, and Council
Members serve four-year terms. The terms of
Mayor Simonson and Council Members Schneider
and Swanson end in 2014.
Filing opens Tuesday, July 29, and ends on Tues-
day, August 12, 2014. Office hours for filing are
9:00am to Noon, and 1:00pm to 4:00pm Monday
through Friday, with extended office hours until
6:00pm on Tuesdays.
Candidates must file an affidavit of candidacy with
the City Clerk, signed in the presence of a notary,
and pay a $2.00 filing fee. The filing fee is waived
if a petition is submitted containing 500 signatures
of eligible 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
Election Judges Needed
communicate clearly with voters, pay attention to
detail, and enjoy helping others. Election judges
are paid an hourly wage of $9.00. Would you like
to serve? Call the City office at 651.433.2274 no
later than Tuesday, July 1.
Forest Lake School District, ISD 831, will be hold-
ing a special election on Tuesday, May 20, 2014 for
a bond referendum. The polling location has been
moved to the Scandia Community Center. Polls
are open 7am-8pm.
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. Qualifica-
tions for serving include being eligible to vote in
Minnesota, being fluent in English, and completing
a two-hour training session (scheduled for July 8,
2014). Election judges need to be able to
ballot without party designation. Candidates may withdraw from the election by
filing an affidavit of withdrawal with the City
Clerk not later than 5:00pm on Thursday, August
14, 2014. 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 preced-
ing the General Election (November 4, 2014)
Has not filed for another office in the same
election
Compensation for Scandia City Council Members
is currently (2014):
Mayor: $3,882.96 annually
Council Member: $3,148.38 annually
Clip and Save— 2014 Elections Calendar
Friday, June 27— Absentee voting begins for
Primary Election, through Monday Aug. 11
Tuesday, July 22, 5 p.m.— Last day to pre-
register for State Primary Election. After this
date, register at the polls on Election Day
Tuesday, July 29— Filings for Mayor and City
Council races open, through Tuesday, Au-
gust 12, at 5 p.m.
Monday, August 11, 5 p.m.— Absentee
voting for Primary Election closes
Tuesday, August 12, 7 a.m.-8 p.m.— State
Primary Election Day
Thursday, August 14, 5 p.m.–-Deadline to
withdraw filings for Mayor and Council
Friday, September 19— Absentee voting
begins for General Election, through Monday,
Nov. 3
Tuesday, October 14, 5 p.m.— Last date to
pre-register for General Election. After this
date, register at the polls on Election Day.
Monday, November 3, 5 p.m.— Absentee
voting for General Election closes
Tuesday, November 4, 7 a.m.-8 p.m.—
State General Election Day
Special Election, Forest Lake Schools,
May 20th, New Polling Place
Brian Jahnke was hired March 5,
2014 as a full-time maintenance
worker in the Scandia Public
Works Department. He fills the
newly created fourth crew
member position in the depart-
ment. Jahnke began working for
the City this winter as an on-call
snow removal worker. He
brings experience in construc-
tion skills and heavy equipment
operations to the team. Under
the direction of Public Works
Director Kieffer, Jahnke joins
other public works staff to
deliver quality service and
maintain the City’s infrastruc-
ture.
In his free time, Jahnke enjoys
snowmobiling, hunting and
working on his house.
Make Sure Public Safety
Officers Can Find You
When You Need Them— Is
your address clearly marked at
the street? If not, public safety
officials (police, fire, EMS) may
be delayed in reaching you when
it matters most. Please make
sure your address is marked on
your mailbox and/or at the end
of your driveway. Every second
counts.
Exterior Storage and Park-
ing— Scandia requires that all
personal property be stored in a
building or fully screened, with a
few exceptions for licensed
vehicles and recreation equip-
ment. No more than four pas-
senger vehicles per dwelling unit
are allowed on parcels less than
10 acres in size. No more than
2 recreational vehicles (such as
campers, boats, trailers, etc.)
may be stored in the side or
rear yard on any lot.
Signs— Permits are required
for all signs, including temporary
signs for garage sales and com-
munity events. There’s no fee
for temporary sign permits. No
signs may be placed in any public
rights-of-way, on any roof, or
painted on walls or attached to
utility poles.
Burning Permits— A (no-
charge) burning permit is re-
quired for open burning when
there is no snow cover. In all
cases, please notify the Washing-
ton County Sheriff’s Office
(651.439.9381) one hour before
you burn. There may be restric-
tions depending on weather,
time-of-day or air-quality issues.
See the City office for more
information and for permits.
Spring Load Limits— are in
effect and are expected to last
for about 8 weeks after they
went into effect on March 14.
Disposing of Leaves—Did you
know that dumping your leaves
in the ditch is also illegal. This
causes ditches to fill up with
sediment prematurely resulting
in poor drainage or even flood-
ing. The decomposition helps to
accelerate the forming of algae
in our lakes and rivers. Please
dispose of your leaves properly.
Landscaping in the Right-of-
Way—Summer is right around
the corner and many people
take this opportunity to land-
scape their yards. Before you
do any work, make sure that
you are not encroaching into the
right-of-way. Landscaping within
the right-of-way is not permitted
and you may be forced to return
it to its original state. Don’t
waste your time and money and
check with the City first.
Jahnke Joins Public Works Crew
Short Takes
Page 3 Volume 8, Issue 1
New this year is a City-Wide
Clean-up Week, scheduled for
Saturday, April 26 through Saturday, May 3 at the SRC/
Forest Lake Sanitation site in
Wyoming, MN.
This service will replace the annual Heavy Metal Clean-up Day
held each spring at the Scandia
Community Center parking lot.
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 facil-
ity located at 6320 East Viking
Boulevard, Wyoming, MN.
During this week, Scandia
residents will receive a 20% discount off regular collection
prices. Be prepared to show
proof of residency such as a
driver’s license. Hours of
Do You Have Spring Fever?
Dates to Remember
ISD 831
Special
Election
Scandia Community
Center
Tuesday, May 20
7:00 a.m. to
8:00 p.m.
Farmers
Market
Gammelgården
Wednesdays
June 11 through
Sept. 24
4:00 p.m. to
7:00 p.m.
Weekly Drawing for
Market Give-A Way
Scandiafarmersmarket.com
“Spring
Chicken”
Benefit
Fire Hall
Saturday, May 3
4:00 p.m. to
8:00 p.m.
Proceeds to Fire Dept. and
Lions Scholarship Fund
operation are 8:00 a.m. to noon
on Saturdays, and 8:00 a.m. to
4:30 p.m. M—F.
Please call SRC at 651.462.1099
for more information. A pricing
schedule is posted on the City’s
website.
20% Off