Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997 DecemberC O O Opportunities abound to 'Share the Joy' for holidays Cottage Grove residents can "Share the Joy" this month through a variety of local giving programs. V Friends in Need food shelf sponsors the local "Share the Joy" holiday giving and receiving pro- gram. Gifts for children (newborns through age 18) and cash donations are welcome. Please make checks payable to Friends in Need Food Shelf and send them to P.O. Box 6, Cottage Grove, MN 55016. Gift and toy distribution is set for Saturday, Dec. 20, at the Cottage Grove Armory. Groups of volunteers are needed to help set up at 9 a.m., and to distribute the gifts at noon "Share the Joy" will provide $40 worth of food certificates to each client family so the family can select its own favorite holiday foods. "We need cash to provide for these families," according to food shelf director Sue Kainz. "We also need good quality winter wear (coats, hats, gloves, boots) for all ages, and bedding for many families." Other local holiday collections include these (deadlines are in parentheses): V CUB FOODS: - Toys for Tots dropoff (by Dec. 20) - Red Barrel for "Share the Joy" toys V RAINBOW FOODS Santa Anonymous (by Dec. 19) - Salvation Army Bellringer V FIRST BANK COTTAGE GROVE - Red Barrel for "Share the Joy" toys - Red Barrel for "Share the Joy" toys V NORWEST BANK - Mittens, hat, and scarf collection V STONE SOUP THRIFT STORE - Ongoing need for good used clothing and household 'items, and for volunteers. Contains a minimum of 10% postcons POSTAL PATRON Carrier Route Presort Bulk Rate U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 1 COTTAGE GROVE, MN 55016 imar Please join us at the "Truth in Taxation Hearing 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 2 Council Chambers, Cottage Grove City Hall. Fire Dept Open House Part-time Firefighters .. 2 CITYVISION 21 ............. 2 Pet Licenses ................ 3 Preservation Award ... 3 Interview w. New City Schools 935.13 Administrator ........... 4 Halloween Parade ..... 4 Thanks, Volunteers ... ...5 Senior Center .............. 6 Police News ................ 6 Heritage Ed Project.... 6 Recycle Incentive...... 7 Holiday Giving ............ 8 by Ryan Schroeder Cottage Grove City Administrator The Cottage Grove City Council's direc- tion to staff in pre- paring the operating budget for the past few years has been "No impact to taxpay- ersl" Once again, we have reached that goal. That achieve- ment is possible due to the hard work and dedication of past and present City Staff and Councils. The graph below shows the City's property tax rate for the past five years. The proposed prop- erty tax rate for 1998 is lower than the rate in any of the four previous years. The market value of an "average" home in Cottage Grove is $115,600. The prop- erty tax paid by this TAX DOLLARS: follows (also see graph above): Where Do County $418.31 They Go? CITY 21.9% Schools 935.13 21.9% CD 4.8% COUNTY SCHOOLS 146.56 22.7% 50.6% 59.89 Parks & Rec 45.50 OTHER Gen'I Government 4.8% homeowner is divided as shown in the list that follows (also see graph above): County $418.31 22.7% City 404.79 21.9% Schools 935.13 50.6% Other 88.05 4.8% TOTAL $1,846.28 100.0% The $404.79 paid by the typical homeowner for City property taxes is used for the following services: HOMEOWNER TOTAL COST PAYS: PER PARCEL: Public Safety $161..72 $370.46 Public Works 63.12 146.56 Comm. Devlpmt. 25.80 59.89 Parks & Rec 45.50 102.65 Gen'I Government 63.85 118.74 Transf /Contingcy 8.25 56.66 Econ. Developmt 2.28 11.07 Debt 34.27 51.40 TOTAL $404.79 $917.43 The "Total Cost per Parcel" column shows that revenue other than property taxes pays for about 56 percent of the services provided by the City. To break this down even further - if you live in an average -value home, you are paying less than 20 cents per day for snow plowing, street striping, pot -hole patching, and street signs. Please join us at the "Truth in Taxation" hearing at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 2, in the City Council Chambers at City Hall. Come and let us know what you think, and learn more about your tax dollars at work in the City. 2 Close to 5110 people attended the Fire Prevention Week Open House, held this fall at Fire Station t on Grange Blvd. All the exhibits got a lot of attention, but "there was no doubt about the most popular attraction," said Fire Chief Dave Dally. "We took adults and children on rides on a fire truck for 3 hours straight." Next year, the Open House will be at Fire Station 2. Part -time Firefighter Men and women interested in serving as part-time Firefighters /Emergency Medical Technicians in Cottage Grove should apply now to get on a hiring list. "We are in need of firefighters during daytime hours throughout the city, but are in particular need at Fire Station 3 in Old Cottage Grove," said Fire Chief Dave Dally. Due to the increase in emergency medical calls, all new firefighters will be required to be certified Emergency Medical Technicians. Qualifications for volunteer firefighters are: • 18 years of age or older; • live or work within the area served by the Cottage Grove Fire Depart- ment; • pass a physical exam; • all firefighters are required to pass a one -year probation. Firefighters are required to attend weekly training and a certain number of the department's calls. Benefits include uniforms, insurance, and a Fire Department pension after a minimum of 10 years of service. If you have an interest in firefighting and emergency medical work, please contact the Fire Department at 458 -2809. 0 - . - The CITYVISION 21 Task Force is wrapping up the study phase of its work, and will be producing a first draft of its findings for discussion by other city groups. According to Community Develop- ment Director Kim Lindquist, the Task Force will review the draft with City Boards and Commis- sions in the next few months before pre- senting a final draft to the City Council. The CITYVISION 21 Task Force is a 20- member citizens' group working on long -range strategic planning for the City of Cottage Grove. During its meet- ings in the past year, the Task Force paid special attention to five areas: land use and housing, a community center, economic develop- ment, transit and transportation, and the community's future on the Missis- sippi River. 7 Reduce, Reuse, Recyle - and win cash! The City of Cottage Grove has a weekly Magazines - Place magazines in a separate curbside recycling program in conjunction with brown paper bag. trash pickup. Your recyclable items must be separated and placed in either the blue or Plastic Bottles - Narrow -neck #I and #2 green bin. Recyclable items include: bottles may be recycled. Please rinse bottles and remove lids. Aluminum Cans - Aluminum cans and clean aluminum foil may be recycled. The cans do not need to be rinsed or crushed, but it may be cleaner and more conve- Corrugated Cardboard - Flatten corrugated boxes and cut or fold into pieces no larger than three feet by three feet. nient for you to do so. Place them next to the recycling bins. Newspaper - You may include all supplements to the paper as well as all junk mail and flattened cereal, cake, and pop boxes. Tin Cans - Rinse the cans clean. You do not have to remove the labels. Lxlass — rOU may recycle Ulloro ken clear, brown, and green food and beverage glass bottles and jars. The labels do not need to be removed, but glass should be rinsed clean with metal caps and rings removed. Polystyrene - Do not set polysty- rene items at your curbside. They may be brought to Cub Foods, 8690 E. Pt. Douglas Rd. Polystyrene items in- clude foam cups, plates, bowls, egg cartons, and meat trays. Just look on the cartons for the chasing arrows around the number 6. The City provides a green and a blue recycling bin for all new residents. Iff you have not received your recycling bins, or need more information about what you can recycle, please contact your local trash hauler or call the Public Works Department at 458 -2808. NEW: incentive Program offers cash, certificates for curbside recycling The City of Cottage Grove will initiate a Curbside Recycling Incentive Program in December 1997. Residents participating in the recycling program will be eligible to win cash prizes or certificates from local businesses. Residential addresses will be drawn randomly, and if the homeowners are participating in recycling, they will receive the award. For more information about City recycling programs, please call the Public Works De- partment at 458 -2808. 6 Senior Center offers holiday activities South Washing- ton Senior Center programs in Decem- ber include: Microwave Cooking, taught by Marie Winger from the MN Extension Service: Tuesday, Dec. 16, at 7 p.m., and Wednesday, Dec. 17, at 10:30 a.m. No charge. Registration dead- line: Friday, Dec. 12, Christmas Party Noon Thursday, Dec. 18. Price: $9. Regis- tration deadline: Tuesday, Dec. 9. The Senior Cen- ter, located at 8400 E. Pt. Douglas Rd. S. (in the District Program Center) has a variety of ongoing programs for seniors and other adults. Call 458 -6650 for more information. Remember: no on- street parking The Cottage Grove Police Department reminds residents that NO ON- STREET PARKING is allowed on any residen- tial street from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m., Oct. 1 to April 30. Parking is permitted at other times as long as it does not obstruct snow removal. Please help our Public Works employees in their efforts to clear snow this winter by complying with this ordinance. 'Heritage Education Project' wins plaudits at Festival More than 40 maps, handouts, books, and other educational materials dealing with the history of Cottage Grove and Newport were displayed at the Third Annual Minne- sota Preservation Festival, held in Minneapolis in late October. "Our exhibit was a resounding suc- cess," said City Historic Preservation Officer Robert Vogel. "Participants were obviously impressed with our local heri- tage education initiative." The Heritage Education Project, completed in late summer, developed classroom resources for teaching local history in grades 6- 12. A joint venture of the Cottage Grove Advisory Committee on Historic Preserva- tion and the Newport Heritage Preservation Commission, the Project was financed in part by a federal grant. Police Dept. News COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING You may access our Community Oriented Policing line to leave a message for an officer assigned to your district 2 apt up -to -date information on what has been occurring in your district. The districts are: 1- Southwest; 2- Northwest; 3- Central; 4 -East. The 24 -hour number is 458 -6054. MCGRUFF HOUSES NEEDED The Cottage Grove Police Dept. is looking for homeowners to participate in the McGruff House Program. McGruff Houses are temporary safe havens for children who find themselves in emergency or otherwise frightening situations which re- quire immediate help. Children are taught about the McGruff House Program in elementary school. Please contact Community Affairs Officer Greg Reibel at 458 -6025 for more information. NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH BLOCK CAPTAINS Neighborhood Watch Block Captains are the communication link between the 10 -18 homes in their designated Watch Block and the Police Department. Watch Block members are taught by the Police Department how to better recog- nize suspicious activity in their neighborhoods, and report that activity to the Police. If you are interested in joining Neighborhood Watch, please contact Officer Greg Reibel at 458 -6025, or Community Watch Coordinator Cell Peterson at 458 -1081. POLICE DEPT. IS ON -LINE The Cottage Grove Police Dept is proud to announce the activa- AJ tion of its informational Internet Web site. Citizens with internet capability will be able to access this Web site 24 hours a day. The Web site includes information and pictorials on the Police Department, its mission and goals, personnel and programs. The Internet address is: httR:I /www /www.cLDttage-grov9-o Cottage Grove pet owners face stricter enforcement of pet licensing this year, with late fees that are both higher per month, and assessed earlier than in previ- ous years. Dog and cat licenses for 1998 are due Jan. 1, 1998. A late fee of $2.00 per month will be assessed beginning Jan. i for unlicensed pets. License applica- tions may be mailed in (use form at right) or completed at City Hall during regular office hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. In addition, City Hall will be open for extended hours to issue pet licenses: Saturday, Dec. 20 9 a.m. to 3 P.M. Monday, Dec. 29 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 30 or after Jan. 1, 1998. All applications 4:30 -6:30 p.m. All pet owners will must be accompa- In the past, City pay $15 per license nied by the fee, pet owners had a for neutered/ spayed payable to "City of "grace period" until pets, and $20 per Cottage Grove," and March 1 to purchase license for non- by an up -to -date their pet licenses. neutered /non- spayed rabies certification. This year, a $2 per animals. The senior Please contact month late fee will be citizens' rate is no the City Clerk's assessed for any pet longer available. Office, 458 -2800, license purchased on with any questions. i of C i o#Pag C , iYOV@ Date 19 i This is to certify that i i residing at i has registered a O Male O Female Cl Neutered O Spayed i O Dog, named Color Breed i i O Cat, named Color Breed i i and has paid the License Fee on said pet for the year ending Dec. 31, 19 i i Licenses are due Jan. 1 of each year. Fees: $20 non - neutered, nonspayed; i i $15 neutered /spayed. A late fee of $2.00 per month will be assessed as of Jan. 1, 1998, i i O Check # O Cash O Mail O In Person i By Phone ' i FOR OFFICE USE ONLY i i O Renewal License i i O New License Late Fee Total Fee i i Rabies Expiration Date By i L— - - -- CityC/edc -- J City receives Preservation grant The Historic Preservation Division of the Department of Community Development has received a $4,000 grant from the National Park Service Historic Preservation Fund to publish guidelines for preserving privately owned historic buildings and archaeological sites in Cottage Grove. The guidelines will address historic preservation issues that are not covered by existing standards and regulations. These include: • selecting paint colors for historic buildings; • maintenance of older homes; • discovery of archaeological remains; • protection of historically significant landscape features like gardens, hedges, fences and orna- mental trees. The guidelines will be voluntary and will emphasize a pro - active approach to preservation based on education and partnerships. City Historic Preservation Officer Robert Vogel will oversee the project, which is expected to be completed next summer. 4 New City Administrator Schroeder sees role as 'facilitator' "As much as anything, I've been listening," Ryan Schroeder said when asked in a recent interview how his first few weeks on the job had gone. Schroederis Cottage Grove's new City Administrator who started work here on Sept. 29 after complet- ing six years as City Administrator of the City of Ramsey, MN. Schroeder said his first weeks on the job have been spent attending meetings with the City Council, City task forces like the Pavement Management Committee and CITY - VISION 21, and com- munity groups. He's also been doing a lot of reading. "Unless I under- stand the background of existing issues, it's Hundreds of people turned out for the City's annual Halloween Parade on a cold and blustery Oct. 25. BELOW, an award - winning "string of Halloween lights;" AT RIGHT, some of the marchers. difficult to have intelligent conversa- tions about future direction," he said. Schroeder called the City staff "a well - qualified and well - intentioned group of folks." He cited a recent meeting with the Labor - Management Committee from the Public Works Depart- ment. "Their first thought was how can we improve service delivery in very specific ways — how can we do this better ?" he said. "It was won- derful to see." Budgets, Business Schroeder said he's starting to spend time on the City budget in preparation for the Dec. 2 "Truth in Taxation" hearing (see page 1). Another pressing issue is Economic Development. "The larger need at the moment appears to be in the industrial sector," Schroeder said. "With growth in the indus- trial sector, retail business strength will be enhanced. We're trying to set up the Industrial Park for the next stage of activity, but industrial develop- ment takes some time." He said a recent City Council decision to option 40 acres of property within the Industrial Park will allow the City to be more aggressive in its outreach to potential tenants. Community Effort "This City has spent more effort on community collabora- tion than most others," Schroeder said. "It says to me that the Cottage Grove Council and citizens are more interested in working together than similar groups in most places." And how does Schroeder see his role? "I see myself as a facilitator," he replied. "If there are things folks think we're not doing well — please let me know!" Residents can contact Schroeder at City Hall, 458 -2822. 5 THANKS • our • -• • The City of Cottage Grove is fortunate to have a number of clubs, organizations, and individuals who are dedicated to improv- ing the image and quality of life in our City. Pictured below are members of the Pine Ridge Garden Club, working in the flower garden in front of City Hall. The City would also like to recogniz( Jerry and Ester Filson and other Master Gardeners o: Cottage Grove for their assistance witl the planting and maintenance of the many beautiful flower beds in our parks and along Ea Point Douglas Road Dear Santa, All of us in Cottage Grove are very grateful for the people on this page. They've done some wonderful things for our City this year. Please be good to them! THANKS to Adopt-A-Park Volunteers! st "Adopt -A -Park" volunteers perform a much- appreciated public service by cleaning and beautifying our City park system. Cottage Grove would like to thank the following community clubs and organizations for their active participa- tion in this valued program; Hamlet Park ................. Cub Scout Pack 55 Hamlet Park Trails ....... CG Fire Auxiliary Hearthside Park ........... City Cousins 4 -H Highlands Park ............. Cub Scout Pack 644 Kingston Park ............... CG Lions Club Lamar Fields ................ Teen Action Nina's Park ................... Nine's Family & Friends Oakwood Park .............. Burnet Realty Old Cottage Grove Community Park ...... ............................... Happy Hornets 4 -H Pine Coulee Park .......... Country Neighbors Pine Glen Park ............. Girl Scout Troop 1703 Pine Tree Pond Park ..... Park Nat'l Honor Society Pine Tree Valley Park .... Girl Scout Troop 1496 Woodridge Park ............ Cottage Grove Target CONGRATS! City wins 6th in nation for National Night Out Congratulations Out program this petting zoo, a concert, Grove Department of to everyone who year. and a visit (via heli- Public Safety, Cot - attended the 14th More than 30 copter) from Lt. tage Grove Crime annual `National million citizens in Governor Joanne Prevention Advisory Night Out" celebra- 9,250 communities Benson and State Board, SuperMoms ti on at Woodridge nationwide partici- Public Safety Com- Bakery, Target Park in August! pated in National missioner Don Davis. Cottage Grove, Cub Cottage Grove's Night Out and were More than 1,200 Foods Cottage Grove, celebration was eligible for an award Cottage Grove resi- DeMori's Restaurant, awarded 6th place in one of nine catego- dents joined the and Jamaica Food out of 50 cities in its ries. celebration, which Mart. category. This was The National focused on "saying Next year's the highest ranking Night Out celebration good -bye to crime, National Night Out of any Minnesota in Cottage Grove drugs, and violence." will be held at city participating in included food, safety The event was spon- Woodridge Park on the National Night displays, games, a sored by the Cottage Tuesday, Aug. 4.