Loading...
January 2013 Shore ReportGet Involved in City Government t s easy to ignore how things get done in the city: your street gets plowed, your toilet flushes and everything goes away, your park is mowed and your potholes get filled. Now you can be a part of the system by joining one of Shorewood's commissions or representing the city on a board. Planning Commission There are currently three three -year openings and one two -year position available on the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission serves as an advisory commission to the City Council on planning and development issues. This year you will be involved in not only residential construction projects, but also in the Smithtown Crossing Redevelopment project and the city's trail plan. The Planning Commission meets first Tuesday of the month at 7 pm. A ten- tative second meeting is scheduled for the third Tuesday as needed. Park Commission There are currently three -three year positions open on the city park commission. The Park Commission serves as an advisory commission to the City Council on park and park program- ming issues. This year the commission is work- ing on developing updates to current parks along with the usual programming and park recommen- dations. The Park Commission meets at 7 p.m. on the second Tuesday of the month. Board Appointments The City Council appoints representatives to several boards each year. Currently, Shorewood is seeking representatives to serve on the Lake Minnetonka Communication Commission board and the Minnetonka Community Education board. Both representatives would serve one year terms and would attend board meetings. Representatives report back to the City Council as needed. To apply for any of these volunteer positions, please send a letter of interest to the city. You may attach a resume if available, but it is not required. For more information contact city hall by email, or call 952.960.7900. City Council Approves 2013 Budget n December 3, the Shorewood City Council approved the 2013 general fund budget and tax levy. The operations of the city are being funded with no increase in the city property tax levy. The council and staff worked hard to hold the line on property taxes, while providing the same level of front -line services. To achieve that outcome, most departments found some savings in their operating budgets and new revenues were identified for the general fund. The City of Shorewood gets approximately 22% of each property tax dollar. The remaining 78% goes to Hennepin County, the school districts, and minor taxing districts such as watershed districts, Metropolitan Council, Metropolitan Mosquito Control District and others. The municipal portion of your tax dollar is used by the city to provide police and fire service, parks and recreation, road maintenance, snow plowing, election administration, newsletter and website, ball field maintenance, and a host of other services. Although homeowners overall should see no increase in their property tax due to city budget adoption, individual property taxes have changed due to home valuation differences and increased tax levies from other jurisdictions. Residents should know that home values are based on the 2012 assessed value determined by the Hennepin County Assessor and then reduced by the Market Value Exclusion amount if that value is below $413,800. Recycling Weeks for January 2013 All recycling must be curbside no later than 7 a.m. on recycling day. Mainland residents recycle January wry3, 16 and 30; Island residents Y 0 recycle January 17 , and 31. 4;90m rY There is a one day delay due to New Years Day. Reduce Waste in the New Year LTHOUGH RECYCLING IS VERY important, reducing the amount of waste you generate should be the initial focus of your efforts. When you avoid making garbage in the first place, you don't have to worry about disposing of waste or recycling it later. Changing your habits is the key — think about ways you can reduce your waste when you shop, work and play. There's a ton of ways for you to reduce waste, save yourself some time and money, and be good to the Earth at the same time. Stop the Junk Mail For information on how to get off of many credit card, catalog, and other mailing lists, go to www. reduce.org, and click on junk mail. Unfortunately it does take a bit of effort, but you can get your junk mail reduced considerably! Nationally, only 22% of all junk mail is recycled. That leaves 32 pounds of junk mail per person in your household going to the landfill. Reducing the amount in your mail box is a great first step! Christmas Light Recycling As you test holiday lights this season, there is a resource to recycle non - working lights or unwanted lights. The Recycling Association of Minnesota has partnered with an organization to collect the wire from non - working lights and extension cords. Residents may drop off extension cords and strings of non - working or unwanted units at Shorewood City Hall during regular Reduce Packaging Packaging makes up 30 percent of municipal solid waste. You can reduce the amount of packaging you throw in the garbage by purchasing items that have less packaging. Examples: Reduce the amount of packaging by purchasing concentrates and diluting them with water in reusable containers. Avoid single - serving products in favor of larger servings or buying in bulk. Take your own reusable cloth bag so kfr)u don't need "paper or plastic." business Put a Little Light in Your Winter Shorewood Parks Foundation is an organization that provides financial support to area parks. Most recently they have made a donation to Arctic Fever; they also provided a donation to South Lake Safety Camp during the summer months. To help brighten your winter, the foundation is offering a free ice lantern mold with any tax deductible donation of $20 or more to the foundation. The mold is easy to use, freezes overnight, and offers a fun way to light the path to your home, accent your deck during winter parties, or to just add some festive winter light to the dark nights. Donations are accepted in person at city hall, or make a Pay Pal donation from the city web site. If you have questions or are hours. Lights are also accepted at the Carver County Environmental Services drop - off, one block east of Highway 41, 116 Peavey Circle, Chaska. Check the Carver County web site for hours, www.co.carver. mn.us/ec, or call 952.361.1835. interested in being a volunteer on the foundation, please contact the city at 952.960.7900. 0 Arctic Fever Winter Fest The cities of Shorewood, Excelsior, and Tonka Bay are f ready for a fun Arctic Fever event! New events added to Friday, January 18! See the insert in this newsletter." Ready, Set, Skate! t s time to sharpen those skate blades and get ready to get on the rinks and burn that bottled up winter energy! The Shorewood Public Works Department is waiting for a few days of below - freezing temperatures so they can begin the task of preparing Shorewood ice rinks for skaters. Once the ice is ready, warming houses will open at Cathcart, Badger, Manor Parks and our new rink at Freeman Park. Let It Snow! Adopt a Fire Hydrant Be a good neighbor and help keep the fire hydrant in your neighborhood clear of snow. By keeping a four -foot clear space around the fire hydrant, fire fighters will have easy access to your neighborhood hydrant in case of a fire. The time saved could be just the time needed to save a home or a life. Snow Plows and Garbage Day he evening before garbage day is typically when residents place garbage and recycling curbside. When there is a snow fall that evening, it is a good idea Warming House Schedule (generally mid -Dec to mid -Feb) Monday- Friday 3:30 pm — 9 pm Saturday 11 am — 9 pm Sunday Noon — 9 pm Holidays 10 am — 9 pm Closing times may vary slightly if rink is not in use or an attendant is not available. Warming houses will be posted when closed. to wait until morning, if possible, to put out your bins. This prevents the snow being plowed from streets from knocking over or burying your bins! Clearing Your Driveway of Snow Wen shoveling or blowing from your driveway, please do not blow snow into the street. This is especially crucial when snow plows have already cleared the street. The resulting pile of snow will likely not be cleared and will turn to ice, remaining a hazard to drivers until the next snow requiring a plow. If you have a plow clearing your driveway, make sure that Moving Along with the Trail Plan In November, the city Planning Commission hosted an open house about the proposed Smithtown Road trail segment. A number of residents attended, asked questions, looked at pictures and gave feedback to the city planning staff and engineers. Comments that were received and staff responses are available to view on the city web site. Plans for the trail continue. A timeline is available online, with trail completion expected to be in November of 2013. If you have questions or Curfew Reminder Hennepin County curfew will be enforced by age: Under 12 9 pm weekdays; 10 pm Fri /Sat 12 to 14 10 pm weekdays; 11 pm Fri /Sat 15 to 17 11 pm weekdays; 12 am Fri /Sat Phones are not available at the rinks, so please have arrangements for pick -up made before arriving to skate. the snow is pushed completely across the street, keeping the main road clear. Keep Cars Off the Road During and after a snowfall, please be aware that cars parked in the roadway can be a hazard to snow plow drivers and may result in your road not being plowed. It also prevents plows from removing snow curb to curb and makes for messy streets all winter. Whenever possible, remove cars from the roadway during a snow storm. comments about the trail and the trail buidling process, please contact Planning at 952.960.7912. Thank you for the Donations Many residents contributed winter clothing, toys and food to the collection at city hall over the holidays. Thank you for all you gave this year! All food was donated to ICA Foodshelf; toys and winter clothing were donated to ResourceWest. All donations will benefit residents in need in the west metro area. Shore Report January 2013 MMM nos' ao,a�pNSN81014s }noS o'mu �W,00 W,aoa0 i6a fgjun a�a aaq 4aaa� d o �'� sslW' }`u00 .�,� }Qaa6 aN} } GI ti r� Enjoy ice skating on tr asts), cocoa and musi fleet at Southshore CE 2bird-mv. (folv' Shorewood Freeman Park, 6000 Eureka Rd Wagon Rides 10 am-3 pm Bonfire 10 am-3 Pm Snowshoeing Geocaching Sledding Ice Skating Skijor Race Dog Sled Rides 11 am -1 pm 11 am -1 Pm 10 am-3 Pm As GelehraEing Tyears o winter www.arcticfever.n,d in 10 am- 3 pm g 9 am -noon Bonfire 10 am- 2 pm S'mores and cocoa Huma b 3 -4 pm prize for kids! 1 -4 pm Kiteboarding demo and try -it yourself 11 am- 4 pm 1-4 pm Coloring Contest see reverse n owling 2:30 -4 PM Ice Skating 1 -4 pm Sunday, January Arctic * Excelsior Library, 343 3rd St ** 386 Oak St, Excelsior Fever Princess Tea Bayview Events Center, 687 Excelsior Blvd, Excelsior 12:30 -2:30 pm; $20 adults /$15 kids under age 12 Register online at www.arcticfever.net, or call Shorewood City Hall, 952.960.7900. Watch for updates and more information at www.arcticfever.net! celsior ons and downtown Show* 10:30 am n Rides 11 am -3 pm F ke Race 2 pm Fever Party at Excelsior Brewing 5 -10 pm To �„� ka � Bay Bonfire/Ice Skating 11 am -4 pm Isnowshoeing 12 -3 pm Afanitou Park, 541-8 Manitou -Rd Brain Balance ** 12 -3 pm Owl Show 1:30 -2:30 pm I Lego snowboard racing, crafts and refreshments. Lego Kick Sledd" in 10 am- 3 pm g 9 am -noon Bonfire 10 am- 2 pm S'mores and cocoa Huma b 3 -4 pm prize for kids! 1 -4 pm Kiteboarding demo and try -it yourself 11 am- 4 pm 1-4 pm Coloring Contest see reverse n owling 2:30 -4 PM Ice Skating 1 -4 pm Sunday, January Arctic * Excelsior Library, 343 3rd St ** 386 Oak St, Excelsior Fever Princess Tea Bayview Events Center, 687 Excelsior Blvd, Excelsior 12:30 -2:30 pm; $20 adults /$15 kids under age 12 Register online at www.arcticfever.net, or call Shorewood City Hall, 952.960.7900. Watch for updates and more information at www.arcticfever.net! Hey kids ages 3 -11: enter the Arctic Fever 2013 Coloring Contest! Color and drop off by Saturday, January 19 at 5:00 p.m. to the Excelsior Library, 343 Third Street, Excelsior. Prizes will be awarded in three categories: ages 3 -5, 6 -8, and 9 -11. Winners will be notified by phone and names posted in the Excelsior Library. You may take your picture home after January 19. Sponsored by the Friends of the Excelsior Library and Artworks Art & Frame, Inc. hw6c -Vever2013 ,f Name--------------------------------- - - - - -- Age Phone _— _— _— _— _— _ —_ - -_— _(This will be cut off before hanging) &V* fW&OF 60W Sunday jentarf 20,12030-2030 pm - �� f �cepaia�ting lwandcra�a�12f30pm; taa sen%cc� begins aEi pm Bar��ec� went Ce�ei; do 687 8m&o r 13 exce6r pel6ht dour pr`nae_,-s wtth a center tea, complete wt?h tin y sandwiches, &a and cocoa, delt'ca6e desserts, facopat`nfift)3, wand cra f harp music, ior(elltng 6� the 4rc6c -Feuer Snoco f rtncess and the chance to corn a completer oa*ed knerfcan Ctrl dollf, (mush be present to coin), fin, job our neco venue this dear with iunntng afecos o(the laef, Tickets are $20 adults /$15 for children under age 12 Ticket price includes food and beverage, gift, and child's ticket is entered in a drawing for an American Girl doll and accessories. REGISTRATION DEADLINE: January 7, 2013 Register online at www.arcticfever.net, or submit registration by mail or in- person to City of Shorewood, 5755 Country Club Road, Shorewood, MN 55331; 952.960.7900 Adult Name Child Name Child Name Child Name Address Telephone_ Seating is assigned as registration is taken. No refunds or cancellations after January 7. Total enclosed $ City /Zip Email one ticket at $20 one ticket at $15 one ticket at $15 one ticket at $15