2023 April - Spring NewsletterApril
· April 1, 8-11 a.m., Breakfast with the
Easter Bunny, Scandia-Marine Lions
· April 15 10 a.m.—1 p.m., Service Project Sampler Day, Scandia-Marine
Lions
· April 17, 5 p.m., Board of Appeal and
Equalization, Community Center
· April 20, First Anniversary Celebration
with Mellerud, Sweden, 11 a.m.,
Community Center
· April 22, Earth Day Activity, 1-3 p.m.
Pinecone Bird Feeders, Hay Lake Park,
Park and Recreation Committee.
· April 29, Star Watch Party with Mike Lynch, Hay Lake Park
· April 29-May 6,Spring Clean-up
Collection Week, SRC, Wyoming
· April 30, 1 p.m., Earth Day shrub give-
a-way and info , Hay Lake Park,
Friends of Scandia Parks & Trails
May
· May 4, Butik Opening -
Gammelgården
· May 5-7, Opening Weekend,
Gammelgården
· May 28, Immigrant for a Day, Gammelgården
· May 29, Memorial Day, Office Closed
June
· June 5, 1-6 p.m. Blood Drive, Scandia-Marine Lions
· June 14, Farmers Market - Opening
Day, Community Center
· June 24, Midsommer Day,
Gammelgården
July
· July 4, Independence Day , Office
Closed
August
· August 1, 5 p.m. - 7 p.m., National
Night Out, Community Center
· August 19, Spelmanstamma,
Gammelgården
September
· September 4, Labor Day, Office Closed
· September 9, Taco Daze Festival
For more information and a City meeting
calendar, see the website
www.cityofscandia.com
For Gammelgården events, see:
www.gammelgardenmuseum.org
For Scandia Marine Lions events, see:
www.scandiamarinelions.org
CITY OF SCANDIA
Dedicated to Rural Community Values
Household
Scandia, MN 55073
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
Mike Lubke
715.429.0786
Jerry Cusick
651.433.5865
Heather Benson
651.433.0168
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:
Anne Hurlburt,
Interim Administrator
Brenda Eklund, City Clerk
Colleen Firkus, Treasurer
Bee Stignani, Office Assistant
Charles Fischer,
Director of Public Works
Mike Hinz, Fire Chief
Eric Larson, Attorney
Eckberg Lammers
Ryan Goodman, Engineer
Bolton & Menk
TJ Hofer Planner, Bolton & Menk
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Community Calendar, April 2023 - September, 2023
PRSRT STD
U.S. POSTAGE PAID Scandia, MN
55073
EDDM Message from the Mayor
APRIL 2023 VOLUME 17, ISSUE 1
CITY OF SCANDIA
Inside this issue:
A twice-yearly publication for residents of the City of Scandia, Minnesota
A busy spring, summer and fall lie ahead.
The Scandia-Marine Lions will host the fourth annual Service Project Sampler
Day featuring 15 hands-on service projects and 21 collection drives. This
event in the community center is free and open to the public from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 15th.
Gammelgarden’s 51st Birthday Celebration & Picnic will be May 6th at Gammelgarden. Look for sign up
information on the Scandia and Gammelgarden websites.
Eight members of Scandia’s Sister City initiative will be guests of our sister city Mellerud, Sweden in June.
Mayor Christine Maefsky, Sister City Board members, Patti Ray, Sue Rodsjo, Paul Rodsjo, Darlene Holtgreve
and Lynnette Welch, along with farm connection Sarah Nell Johnson, and bee connection Mike Mackiewicz will be in Mellerud
from June 26 to July 4. The visit will coincide with ”Kanalyran” Mellerud’s yearly town festival The members of the group will stay
with host families while in Mellerud. Scandia’s committee plans to invite a group from Mellerud to Scandia around the time of Taco
Daze, with Scandia families hosting the visitors. If you might be interested in hosting, please contact me.
Our new community center playground will be opening early this summer, with an official opening ceremony to follow.
Washington County Historical Society’s Hay Lake Beer Tasting fundraiser is set this year for June 17th at Hay Lake School Museum.
Once again we will have a Midco Day including a welcoming at the Farmer’s Market, an internet story competition for elementary
school students at Lilleskogen Park along with a hamburger picnic from Meisters. The date is August 23rd.
The Scandia Heritage Alliance will be hosting a number of events this summer and fall. On June 8th there will be a fundraiser
honoring Vice President Walter Mondale with a boat tour out of Taylors Falls. Also, together with Gammelgarden, the
Spelmanstamman fiddle festival will be held this year on August 19th at Gammelgarden. And, the Progressive Dinner will be back
this year. It is set for October 14th.
To find out more about these events and how to sign up for them, keep checking Scandia’s social media accounts (website,
Facebook, and NextDoor.)
Please keep in touch. c.maefsky@ci.scandia.mn.us, Christine Maefsky, Mayor
Trash & Recycling Services 2
Public Works News 2
Fire & Rescue News 2
Watershed: Building & Landscape
Project Notification Requirements
2
Waste & Recycle News 3
2023 Assessments 3
2nd Annual City-Wide Garage Sale 3
Burning Permits 3
Parks & Recreation News 3
New City Administrator Selected 3
Community Calendar 4
First Anniversary Celebration with Sweden!
Join the fun at the First
Anniversary Celebration of
Scandia’s Sister City charter
signing with Mellerud,
Sweden! Festivities will
occur on Thursday, April
20th, starting at 11:00 a.m.,
at the Community Center.
An online ceremony on
large monitors with our
friends in Sweden will
include Swedish songs
performed by the Bettes
drἅgar Choir from
Mellerud, American songs
by Unexpected Company
Chorale, remarks by
Mellerud Mayor Karl-Olof
Pettersson and Scandia’s
Mayor, Christine Maefsky,
and an update of our
connections during the past
year. The celebration will
b e b r o a d c a s t
simultaneously in each
respective international
location.
Please come and support
this important event.
Following the brief
ceremony, a Swedish FIKA
will be held. This is a
beautiful Swedish tradition
during which people drink
coffee, tea, or juice, eat
Swedish cakes, cookies, and
other light snacks, and talk
to each other! The Scandia’s
Sister City Committee plans
to serve the towering
Kransekake cake, Princess
Torte, and Krumkaka waffle
cookies, to name a few. The
food and the company will
be excellent! The City of
Scandia and The Scandia-
Marine Lions Club sponsor
this no-charge FIKA. All are
welcome to attend; you will
learn a few Swedish words!
Scandia sought out Mellerud
to be our sister city because
many of Scandia’s founding
families came from the
Mellerud area with names
such a s Isa acson ,
Abrahamson, Dahlin,
Edstrom, Kuno, and
Anderson.
Listed are connections
between our cities set up by
Scandia’s Sister City
Committee: connecting the
Lions Clubs, our elementary
schools, our choral groups,
a farm program, tourism
e x c h a n g e , m u s e u m
collaboration, ancestry
information, commercial
trade, arts and crafts idea
exchange, classic antique
cars, beekeeping clubs,
quilting club, Girl Scouts
and a lake fishing
connection.
We thank all of the Sister City
Committee members for all their
valuable time, dedication, and
creativity!
Please Help US Find You
Mark your driveway or mailbox with at least
2" tall reflective numbers (visible from either
direction at the road). This will allow fire,
police, ambulance & other public safety
services to quickly find your home in the
event of an emergency. Additional markings
may be needed for shared driveways and
mailbox clusters. See city ordinance 152.20
on the city web site for further details -
www.cityofscandia.com/FireAddress
Smoke alarms
Smoke alarms save lives. Smoke alarms that
are properly installed and maintained play a
vital role in reducing fire deaths and injuries.
If there is a fire in your home, smoke spreads
fast and you need smoke alarms to give you
time to get out. Like coupons and canned
goods, smoke alarms have an expiration
date. Per NFPA they have a life of 10 years,
but if it has a built-in CO detector you may
need to replace it sooner per the
manufacturer's recommendations. According
to Consumer Reports, most CO detectors
come with a five- to seven-year warranty.
Trash & recycling service
became a hot topic after Scandia’s
dominant trash & recycling provider, SRC,
was acquired by Waste Management
(WM) in late 2022.
For nearly 30 years, Scandia has
contracted with SRC to provide recycling
service, with the city providing a small
subsidy. SRC also contracted directly with
many residents and businesses for trash
service. As WM, the only other company
serving Scandia, began serving former
SRC customers and the recycling contract
expired, there has been some confusion.
The city also learned that it had been
operating under an obsolete ordinance
(from 1970) requiring review and
updating.
After discussing citizen concerns and
options available for both residents and
businesses, the City Council has begun
the process to update Scandia’s ordinance
and pursue an “organized collection”
system. With organized collection, the
city chooses the city’s waste haulers.
Advantages include a greater ability of
the city to manage services, guarantee
service to all, decrease the wear and tear
on streets, reduce truck traffic, and keep
costs lower. Some neighboring cities
(including Forest Lake, Marine on St.
Croix and Stillwater) manage their trash &
recycling this way.
State law dictates the process a city must
follow. The first step is to provide formal
notice to the public and current solid
waste haulers. The city must negotiate
exclusively with current haulers for a 60-
day period. If an agreement cannot be
reached, the city must then create a
“Solid Waste Options Committee” to
study the issues and draft an RFP (Request
for Proposals) to solicit for waste &
recycling companies. Reviewing
proposals, negotiating a contract and
updating ordinances will take some time,
likely until later this year.
As this newsletter goes to press, Scandia
is still in the required 60-day negotiation
period with WM and is actively meeting
with the company. Council will receive a
report in April and decide whether to
pursue a contract with WM or move to the
next step in the state-defined process (a
committee and RFP.)
In the meantime, WM will continue to
provide waste & recycling services to
Scandia customers. Concerned residents
are encouraged to follow updates on the
city’s website www.cityofscandia.com/
Alerts, follow the directions to receive
notification for 2023 Waste and Recycling
Updates.
Notification Requirement -
Building and Landscape Projects
If you have a stream, wetland, or lake
on your property, or within 1,000 feet
of your property, PLEASE contact the
City of Scandia and the Watershed
District prior to beginning any project.
Contractors are frequently unaware of
local requirements and we will assist
you to prevent stop work orders and
unintentional violations. In addition to
helping you understanding local
permitting requirements, the
Watershed District may be able to
provide free plan development
services and identify portions of your
project eligible for cost share funding.
When permits are needed, our
requirements seek to not only protect
the water resources during
construction, but also incorporate long
-term habitat and water protection
practices such as adding trees and
shrubs, low maintenance perennial
buffers, and rain-gardens. These
practices add up to large benefits to
your property, water resources, and
community!
Before beginning a project, please
either go to Scandia’s website,
w w w . c i t y o f s c a n d i a . c o m /
WatershedsInScandia,, or call office
staff during regular business hours
(651) 433-2274 for watershed contact
information.
Page 2
CITY OF SCANDIA
Fire & Rescue
Trash & Recycling Services
Remodeling? Adding a storage shed? Building
a deck? Any new project—check out the NEW
UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE adopted in
October 2022 for guidance to meet all zoning
requirements—www.cityofscandia.com/UDC
Out of the
f re e z e r
and into construction season! Public
Works’ road improvement projects are
paving and seal coating. Look to
Scandia’s social media accounts
(website, Facebook, and NextDoor) for
updates.
As spring is springing, please consider
installing swing-arm style mailbox
supports. They cushion impact by
swinging out of the way if a vehicle or
snow from the plow blade comes in
contact with the mailbox.
Specifications are available at:
w w w . c i t y o f s c a n d i a . c o m /
StreetsIceSnowMailboxes under the
tab Streets: Ice and Snow Control.
Contact your local post office for
placement details including height and
distance from the edge of pavement
regulations. Additional details at
www.cityofscandia.com/Mailbox.
As snow recedes and rain begins,
clearing culverts is key to preventing
flooded ditches and roadways. Well
drained ditch areas also prevent
mosquito habitat. Please help to clear
culvert openings on either side of your
driveway by removing brush, sand or
soil, and fallen leaves.
Have a safe spring and summer this
year!
Public Works
Spring Projects?
Page 3
VOLUME 17, ISSUE 1
Burning Permits
Washington County has released the 2023 assessment
information for the City of Scandia. In total, the value of all
taxable properties in Scandia increased by 4.7% over 2022
assessment. Of the parcels assessed, approximately there
was a 0 to 5% increase for 2000 parcels, 6% to 10%
increase for 250 parcels, 11% and up increase for 250
parcels. If you have questions, you are encouraged to
contact Patrick Poshek, the City’s Assessor,
at 651.430.0360 or attend the Local Board Review &
E q u a l i z a t i o n
meeting Monday
April 17th 2023
5:00 to 6:00 pm
S c a n d i a
C o m m u n i t y
Center 14727
209th St N (listed
on your valuation
2023 Assessments
Waste &
Recycle News
· Clean-Up Week- City-Wide Clean-up Week is scheduled
for Saturday, April 29, through Saturday, May 6, at SRC, Inc.
Waste and Recycle site in Wyoming, MN. Residents may
drop off rubbish items not taken by their regular trash
hauler such as appliances, tires, furniture, scrap metal and
wood at the SRC facility located at 6320 East Viking
Boulevard, Wyoming, MN. Discounted prices and other
information is located at www.cityofscandia.com/Recycle
· Mattress Clean-up Coming in early May—In
collaboration with Ramsey/Washington County Recycling
and Energy, Scandia residents may schedule free mattress
and box spring recycling collection pick up by Second
Chance Recycling. Curbside collection on Monday, May 1st
and Wednesday, May 3rd. Registration opens up April 24th.
To schedule your curbside pick-up, watch for instructions
on Scandia’s social media accounts (website, Facebook,
and NextDoor) or contact staff during regular business
hours (651) 433-2274. You MUST register to participate.
· Film Plastic Recycle - Bring clean and dry plastic film
products that are free of food residue to the collection bin in
the Community Center to earn a park bench for Scandia!
Accepting grocery bags, produce bags, newspaper
sleeves, bread bags, bubble wrap and other such
plastic film with the recycling numbers 2 and 4 printed!
500# collected before July 1, 2023 earns a bench.
· Electronics/Hazardous Waste—Washington County
sponsors free one-day household hazardous waste and
electronics events. Paper shredding is available.
Restrictions and details at www.cityofscandia.com/Recycle
Forest Lake Transit Center
Saturday, May 6 | 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Saturday, June 3 | 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Saturday, September 9 | 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.
· More Recycling News —www.cityofscandia.com/Recycle
2nd Annual City-Wide Garage Sale
Parks & Recreation News
The 2nd Annual City-Wide Garage sale will be Thursday, June
1st through Saturday, June 3rd. All residents and businesses are
encouraged to register their garage sale to be included in the
digital map. Register at www.cityofscandia.com/GarageSale,
or contact staff during regular business hours (651) 433-2274
for assistance. Participants have the option to set up a sale
table in the Community Center parking lot on Saturday only.
Mark your calendars to both sell and shop!
Apply online at www.cityofscandia.com/BurnPermit for open
burning permits. Please notify the Washington County
Sheriff’s Office (651.439.9381) one hour before all burns
except recreational 3’x3’ campfires which do not require
permits. Watch for Spring Burning Restrictions!
New City Administrator Selected
Kyle Morell has been
appointed to serve as Scandia’s
new City Administrator. The
Mayor and Council approved
an employment agreement at
their March 21, 2023 meeting.
Morell will begin his duties on
Monday, April 17, 2023. The
Council chose him from a field
of five finalists who were
interviewed on March 10th .
Mr. Morell currently serves as
the City Administrator and City
Clerk for Hinckley, Minnesota
and has 16 years of experience
in local government, having
previously served the cities of
Clara City, Columbia Heights
and Inver Grove Heights.
Morell has Bachelor of Arts in
History from Marquette
University in Milwaukee and
Master of Public Administration
and Master of Arts in
Management from Hamline
University. He is a resident of
Forest Lake, Minnesota.
Mr. Morell replaces Anne
Hurlburt (retired Scandia
Administrator, who served from
2006 to 2012.) Hurlburt has
been serving as Interim City
Administrator since the
departure of Ken Cammilleri in
December of 2022.
· Free Earth Day Activity – Build a pine-cone bird feeder
at the Hay Lake Park pavilion Saturday April 22nd, 1-3
pm. Materials for the feeders and refreshments for
participants will be provided while supplies last.
· Star Watch Party with Mike Lynch – Learn about and
enjoy the spring-time night sky with the popular Twin
Cities meteorologist. Saturday April 29th at Hay Lake
Park. Sponsored by Security State Bank of Marine.
Watch Scandia’s social media accounts (website,
Facebook, and NextDoor) for more specific details.
· Tai Chi Class – Tai Chi is a great fitness and
mindfulness activity. Register for an 8-week class, held
at the community center on Wednesday nights, starting
on May 3rd – for more information and registration, go to
www.cityofscandia.com/TaiChi
· Children’s Story Path at Lilleskogen Park – Walk the
path to look for regularly updated stories and drawings
from the elementary school kids around Scandia.
· A new ‘Little Library’ is coming this summer to
Lilleskogen Park. Exchange your used books for new
reading adventures in a miniature Water Tower Barn.