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August 1997 Shore ReportCITY OF SHOREWOOD CITIZEN INFORMER August1997 ....................... . t�J1 1J+Cfl_�IN1N 1 1HAll 11 Plltlt ASE Residents Attend Neighborhood Meetings on Highway 7 Improvements N umerous residents visited City Hall on July 8 and July 15 to review plans for potential access closures and consolidations on Highway 7, between Highway 41 and Freeman Park. The plans are the result of the Highway 7 (West) Corridor Study which was conducted in 1995. Cities and counties located adjacent to Highway 7, between Highway 41 and the City of Hutchinson participated in the study. City Staff, Planning Commission and Council members talked with residents about six different areas where safety improvements are being considered along Highway 7. The informal, open house format of the meetings provided a good opportunity to exchange information and ideas about traffic patterns within the study areas. Residents were asked to complete comment sheets documenting their thoughts about the suggested access changes. These comments will be forwarded to the City Council for their discussion at the August 11 City Council meeting. The Council will inform the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) following that meeting as to which improvements are supported by the City at this time. A public hearing will be held on any City Council / Mn/DOT project which is being considered well in ad- vance of a final decision. Stay tuned! Sealcoating Schedule Southshore Center Project Wrap -up & Grand Opening Announcement T he long awaited completion of the Southshore Center is now in its final days. Because the general contrac- tor was not able to finish the job within an agreed upon time frame, the City has taken over the project. The Dial -A -Ride program has been func- tioning out of the Center since early July. We project that all senior programs will be running out of the Center by July 31. The Grand Opening Celebration is scheduled for Sunday, September 14. Tentative activities include a'ribbon cutting ceremony beginning at 1:00 p.m. and key note speaker David McNally starting at 1:30 p.m. David is a renowned author and motivational speaker who lives in Shorewood. Tours of the Center will be from 2:15 to 4:00 p.m. Refreshments will be served at the Center and drawings for prizes will be held. Mark September 14 on your calendar and watch for more details in next month's issue of this newsletter. I n an effort to reduce costs and participate in cooperative efforts, the City Council approved a joint sealcoating project with Tonka Bay to begin the first week in August. The streets in Shorewood that are scheduled for sealcoating include: Cajed Lane Afton Road yli West 62nd Street Country Club Road Beverly Drive Cathcart Drive Boulder Bridge Lane Boulder Bridge Circle Boulder Bridge Drive. Sealcoating of all the streets listed will take approximately two days to complete. The crew will return approximately two weeks later to sweep up the excess gravel. S PNI T W F S AUGUST EVENTS 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 8/5 7:00 Planning Commission Mtg 8/11 7:30 City Council Meeting 8/12 7:30 Park Commission Mtg 8/18 7:30 Tent. Council Wk. Sess. 8/25 7:30 City Council Meeting 8/26 7:30 Tent. Council Wk. Sess. (City offices will be closed on Labor Day!) INSIDE THIS ISSUE' Trail Talk ........... ............................... 2 Mutt Mitts .......... ............................... 2 Shoreline Feedback ........................ 2 Antenna Update .............................. 3 Donation Appreciation ..................... 3 Senior Center ... ............................... 3 Recycling News ............................... 3 Shorewood Events Map .................. 4 Housing Proposal Hearing .............. 4 T '. F ive community organizations gen- erously contributed to the funding of sod and its installation on the youth football field at Badger Park. The City of Shorewood wisps to thank the following: • American Legion Post #259 ($2,000) • Tonka Men's Club ($1,500) • Lake Minnetonka Athletic Association ($1,000) • Tonka Football Association ($1,000) • Myhra Landscaping Inc. of Stillwater ($1,000). With their generosity, the sod was in- stalled in large rolls which, along with a very wet July, should ensure usage for the fall 1997 youth football season. Thank you for your donations! Enjoy and have a great season! T he Planning Commission held a public hearing June 17 to consider a request by Sprint Spectrum to locate antennas on the Shorewood west water tower (near Minnewashta School). Fol- lowing that meeting, Sprint Spectrum asked that the issue not be considered at the July 15 meeting while they pur- sued other options. On July 22 Sprint received a conditional use permit (CUP) to install antennas on an antenna tower being constructed in Tonka Bay near their water tower. Should they work out final contractual details with the City of Tonka Bay, Sprint may withdraw their request from Shorewood. Ah ead ai.nnal 11 H ennepin County has indicated that the intersection of County Road 19 and Smithtown and Country Club Rds. is on the list for future traffic signals. The County is aware of the increased volume of traffic and the numbers of ac- cidents at this site and at the City's re- quest the County will plan for an up- grade some time in 1998 or after. Curbside Recycling Program S horewood residents have requested an expansion of recyclable items for weekly collection. One of these items is chipboard, or boxboard. Chipboard's com- mon uses are: cereal boxes, pop containers, potato chip boxes, etc. E -Z Recycling reports that declining markets for paper products would make it costly to add chipboard to the program at this time but may be included at a later date. Another request is the option to package your recyclables in plastic bags. This type of container for your recyclable items is presently not acceptable. Our recycling contract with E -Z Recycling will expire in December of this year. The City is interested in your suggestions and comments for changes in your recycling program. Your ideas are important to us, and add to our bid- ding /negotiating strategy which will begin in September. What might make recycling easier for you? What additional items would you like to have col- lected? Are you satisfied with E -Z Recycling's service? If you have a request or wish to comment, call City Hall at 474 -3236 or leave a message on the Shoreline by selecting Extension #1 at that same number. Hazardous Household Products If containers of bug spray, charcoal lighter fluid, fertilizer with weed killer, insec- ticides, pool chemicals, roach/ant killer, or rodent bait are empty, you may dispose of them in your trash. However, if you wish to dispose of these items and the container is not empty, you will need to take it to one of the citizen drop -off centers. Please call 348 -6509 for more information. Storm Damage /Brush and Branches The Bloomington drop off site for Hennepin County accepts brush 3" in di- ameter or smaller for a fee of $7.50 per load. Call 348 -5832 for details. Reminder R ide l_ff?.2118:- sl yol Holiday Recycling Schedule T�' Wedfics6y iq shnrewon o p Ctrs Senior n TXIhile the Center will continue to offer a number of programs such as foot T T Care, legal consultation, exercise, card games, dining and transportation, we have not scheduled any special events or activities for the month of August during and immediately following our move to the new Southshore Center. All of the new programs and activities beginning in September and October will be fea- tured in this column in September. We hope you will participate in some of them. Please call us about the new programs, your likes and dislikes and also give us suggestions on programs that could be offered as time goes on. A trip that we are offering to Cascade Lodge October 1 st through 3rd to see the North Shore's colors might be of interest to you and we will gladly send you information if you call us at 474 -7635. The cost for the trip is $235 per person, double occupancy, and includes most of your meals, tour of Lake Superior on the new Grandpa Woo III, and much more. See you at the new Southshore Center! 3 Shoreline Comments L ast month we featured information on the Shoreline, our new voice mail box designed to allow residents to leave questions, comments or suggestions 24 hours a day for City Staff, Council or Commission members. Following are some suggestions we have received over the past month: Comment #1 Voluntary Motor Moratorium — Two Sundays a month during the summer residents would be asked to not use motorized equipment such as lawnmowers, chainsaws, weed wackers, leaf blowers, etc. on a voluntary basis. This would allow some peaceful time for those who wish to enjoy the summer outdoors. The City Council discussed the idea and suggested that such an agree- ment could be handled on a neighborhood level. They would like to hear your thoughts. Comment #2 Recycling of f Chip Board — A resident asked that we check into expanding our pickup or place a dumpster at City Hall to collect "chip board," which would include chip, pizza, pop boxes, etc. See recycling article on Page 3 for details. Comment #3 Freeman Park Signage — It was suggested that the "City Park" sign at the entrance to Freeman Park off of Highway 7 be changed to "Freeman Park" with the hopes that this would help reduce traffic through the Shorewood Oaks area. This will be considered by the Park Commission and may be a part of discussion during the improvements process along Highway 7 To help analyze whether these suggestions are something that other residents wish to have implemented, please call the Shoreline and let us know what you think about these ideas. Remember you can call the Shoreline 24 hours a day with a suggestion, comment or question. ® E fa, 474-3236 Ext. #1 More Reflections by Gladys Peck Reprinted courtesy of the Excelsior -Lake Minnetonka Historical Society rs. Tillotson lived on the hill near ers of honey was Mr. C.M. Peck. When I innewashta School, on Grant first came to Eureka to live in 1922 the Lorenz Road. She grew flowers for sale business produced six tons of honey — and exhibited at the selling at 3 1/2 cents per Minnesota State Fair, winning many prizes. Mr. Christianson, who lived in Eureka, raised pigs and butchered them at home. He In the Old Summer Time... drove around the neigh- borhood with his car and sold whatever amount of pork that you wanted. There were no pure food laws in those days. Beekeeping-was a large business in the Eureka area. One of the biggest produc- pound, wholesale. Now the cost of a pound is over a dollar. Raising chickens and sell- ing eggs was also a large industry in Eureka. My father -in -law had over a thousand chickens. His son Clark, my hus- band, would take him to the Manitou Sta- tion with a crate of eggs and he would de- liver them to the YMCA. During World War H he received a dollar a dozen. Ott Mitts L eashed dogs are still al- lowed to enjoy the opportunity of accompanying their owners in Shorewood's City parks. This can present a problem if dog waste is left on the ground where people walk and play. The City of Shorewood will begin a "Pet Pollution Solution" by installing a "Mutt Mitt" dispenser at the entrance to Free- man Park, adjacent to the LRT trail. Mutt Mitts are constructed of a biode- gradable and compostable material. For your convenience, a trash can will be located close to the dispenser for the disposal of your pet's waste. If the Mutt Mitt proves a success, the City will consider providing additional dispensers in other locations throughout the City. Please help keep our parks and trails clean. Trail Review Update T he Park Commission has met with a Park and Trail Planner and dis- cussed professional services to assist in reviewing the Shorewood Trail Plan. They will meet with him again at their August 12 meeting (7:30 p.m. at City Hall) to discuss the Trail Plan, needs assessment and direction for implementation. Community Feedback Several residents have called City Hall to ask: "What about a trail along Street XT'. If you are interested in a specific trail, be sure to leave your name and number so you can be contacted. When a trail is suggested, the entire neighborhood needs to be involved early in the process and continue to participate as the trail is being con- sidered. The person interested enough to suggest it could be a key neighborhood contact. 2 Map Descriptions The following items are on the August 5 Planning Commission Agenda: 1 Howard's Point Marina is appealing a City Code Violation letter which orders the removal of a sign they have on the public right -of -way of the intersection of Smithtown Road and Howards Point Road. A public hearing is scheduled for 8:00 P.M. 2 Sprint Spectrum had requested that the continuation of their public hearing which began on June 17 be tabled to August 5. They are awaiting a meeting at Tonka Bay for approval to locate their antenna on Tonka Bay's water tower instead of Shorewood. 3 A public hearing will be held at 7:00 P.M. to consider a request for a Planned Unit Development for an 80 -unit senior housing development consisting of one -level townhome -style dwellings. The development is proposed for the property located on Highway 7 between Freeman Park and Eureka Road. (See article to right.) 4 Tabled at the meeting of 711/97, the applicants, seeking approval of a conditional use permit to allow a drive- through bank facility at 23780 Highway 7, are attempting to obtain an easement for additional parking necessary for their site. 5 The owner of 6045 Chaska Road is requesting approval of a simple subdivision to create two new lots from the property. 6 The applicant of a setback variance which was previously denied by the City, is re- questing reconsideration of the variance due to modifications. A setback variance approval for 5710 Ridge Road would allow the owner to keep a deck which encroaches into the lakeshore setback. A public hearing is scheduled for 7:30 P.M. Meetings Planned Regarding Senior Housing Proposal A t a public hearing scheduled for August 5, the Shorewood Planning Commission will consider a proposal by Eaglecrest Northwest to build 80 senior housing units on nearly 16 acres of land located west ofEurekaRoadand south ofFreeman Park. The developer proposes to constrict 20, four - unit, single -level buildings for occupancy exclu- sively by seniors. Plans are available for review at the Shorewood City Offices during normal business hours. The developer of this project, Eaglecrest Northwest, has requested that they be allowed to hold a neighborhood meeting at City Hall to explain their proposal, listen to neighbors' comments and answer questions about the project. This meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, July 30 at 7:00 p.m, at City Hall. The public is welcome. CITY OF SHOREWOOD 5755 COUNTRY Y CLUB ROAD SHOREtt?dt7OD, MN 55331 (612)474.3235 M FAX 474.11125 DELI- E R TO: City of Shorewood Council Members ti 'Torsi Dahlberg, Mayor Kristi Stover Jennifer McCarty ,ferry O'Neill John Garfunkel BULK PATE U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT 8#123 EXCELSIOR, MN 55331 Administrator James tom, Hurni