Highwood Hills Rec Center Developments

After local residents from Afton View met with the Parks Department this fall, city staff is announcing that the Highwood Hills Rec Center will be open after school on Mondays and Wednesdays this winter starting in January. The Center will be open from about 3 - 7p with the times divided among age groups.

All the plans are not yet complete, but this is a major accomplishment for local residents after Highwood Hills was closed last year. There are an estimated 500+ young people at the apartment complexes between Lower Afton and the Totem Town Community Garden who had been left without a safe, warm indoor winter play area.

Given the budget situation for the city, it is not a done deal that this program will continue after this winter. If you are interested in helping District 1 seek additional foundation funding for this program, contact our office (651.501.6345).

Shoveling Snow from Sidewalks

This is a friendly reminder that St. Paul residents AND businesses are required by city code to shovel their sidewalks within 24 hours of a snowfall. For those of you who sit on corners, you are also required to clear any wheelchair ramps at the curbs.

Everyone knows the hassle of doing their shoveling and then having the city plows come along and push that nasty stuff back up over curbs. So remember to reclear those access points from your sidewalks to the street.

If their are elders on your block who could use some help, be generous with your shovel or snowblower!

And don't forget your neighborhood mail carrier!! Try to make sure that access to your mailbox is cleared to make it easier for these hard-working folks.

COMING SOON we will have door-hangers that you can leave as a gentle reminder for your neighbors who forget what needs to be done. Let us know if you would like some of these handy notices to use to keep our sidewalks SAFE for us all to walk.

Proposal for the Pigs Eye Industrial Area

Marathon Petroleum Co. is proposing to build a railyard with a minimum storage capacity of 150 cars (the site can hold 170) for their St. Paul Park refinery. The property where this railyard will be built is located in the Pigs Eye Industrial Area, immediately south of the Canadian Pacific railyards which are south of the intersection of Hiway 61 and Warner Road.

Marathon needs to submit an Environmental Assessment Worksheet for this project. Wetlands are impacted by the proposal. The site

• is within the 100 year floodplain of the Mississippi River (which is 706.3 ft above sea level);
• has already gone through some remediation with 4-6 ft of dump materials removed by the MPCA, replaced by geotextile fabric and overlain with clean compacted aggregate to a height of 701 ft;
• would include 3000 feet of linear track varying in width from 1 to 8 tracks.

The proposal has to deal with these factors:

• Wetland A (east end of site) is 6.05 acres and will have to have 0.79 of those acres infilled to avoid impacts on Battle Creek. This wetland discharges through a 15 in. culvert into Battle Creek just after the creek flows under the railroad bridge. A culvert would be used to control its discharge.
• Wetland B (an infiltration ditch built between 2000 and 2002 that is 0.29 acres total. 0.06 acres would be filled and would be replaced by drainage ditches north and south of the proposed rail lines.
• Wetland C (a narrow ditch formed when a flood berm was built) is 0.13 acres.
• Wetland D (an incidental ditch 0.04 acres in size) - only its western edge is in the project area where it flows into Pigs Eye Lake.
• Battle Creek (0.4 acres of the creek is affected) where it flows from Little Pigs Eye Lake under the railroad bridge near where Wetland A discharges into it.

The Wetland Mitigation they are proposing is based on trying to minimize disturbing the old dump materials that underlie this area. There are no places at the site to replace the wetlands they are removing and no opportunities within Saint Paul or Ramsey County where they can do a substitute replacement, or buy credits. They are looking outside this area but will replace wetlands at a ratio of 2:1.

Flood Control Mitigation they are proposing would require compensating on site for the project's displacement of 100 year (and less) floodwaters. They propose on-site compensation by removal of dump materials and providing a buffer between the remaining materials and the final grade (exposed dump materials would be buffered).

Treatment of StormWater is usually done through plantings to form a buffer. They are asking for a variance of this rule, saying that there is not enough space or the proper soils for a natural buffer.

COMMENT - What is puzzling about this proposal is that they say they don't want to mitigate the net loss of wetlands at this location for fear of disturbing the contaminated soils and yet they are seeking a variance to avoid mitigating potential pollution caused by stormwater in the flood compensation ponds they would construct by digging into the contaminated soils. Does anyone else find this problematic!!

LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THIS PROPOSAL! Comment here or contact our office SOON (651.501.6345, district1council@aol.com)!!

We need your input!!

Please take a few moments to complete the survey at the link below. This survey will help us gauge what types of environmental issues the Council will engage with in the coming year. We are trying to make sure that the environmental issues are relevant to everyone in our district, and that we have the resources we need to address the issues.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=7x2ICsBZDT4PoF6K2BJZhw_3d_3d

This survey was developed for us by Keely Gerhold, the Council's fall Environmental Sustainability intern. Thanks to Keely for all the work she did for us on home energy issues while she was working with us.

The Census is Coming

In 2010, we are due to conduct another census of everyone living in our country, our state, our city, our neighborhood. The census is mandated by our federal constitution and is the basis for determining how political power is divided among the states, and how federal money is spent on everything from education to health care to veterans' benefits to transportation projects.

Everyone needs to be counted, whether you are a citizen or not, because everyone counts in determining what our country needs!

The census is a CONFIDENTIAL process!! No one's personal information is tied directly to them. There is no danger that anyone finds out about you personally. Think of it as a big family picture that tells us how we are growing as a nation and what the family looks like as a whole.

The census office is HIRING workers for a variety of jobs that pay well and will be temporary through 2010. There is a test that is required and you can find out more by calling toll-free, 1-866-861-2010.

This is important to all of us, so start thinking about it NOW!!

Planters on Suburban

The District 1 Community Council worked over several years with businesses along Suburban Avenue to have new lighting, trees and sod, and planters installed along the boulevard. With the construction of the new Aldi's Grocery Store at Suburban and Ruth, two of the planters are right where the new entrance to the parking lot will be.

The planters will have to be moved during construction, but the question is where they will be put once construction is finished.

Aldi's will be landscaping between its parking lot and the sidewalk along both Ruth and Suburban. That landscaping will include the same kind of hybrid elms that the city planted on the south side of suburban. Do neighbors want the planters put on the boulevard in front of the landscaping? Or is there somewhere else along the street that you would like to see the planters replaced?? For sure, the city will put new sod along the boulevard here, but there won't be trees on the city property - just on the Aldi's property.

No matter what, the city will make sure that the irrigation system remains. But if you have a preference of where to put the planters, let the Council staff know by commenting here, emailing our office (district1council@aol.com) or calling (651.501.6345).

Annoyed by all those phone books??

If you would like to get yourself removed from the lists for delivery of phone books, check out this site www.yellowpagesgoesgreen.org/stop-yellow-pages/

I don't know about you, but there are only so many phone books that I can actually use! Think of all the trees and energy we could save, too!

Thanks to Eureka Recycling for letting us know about this site!

Holiday Crime Prevention Safety Tips

Overview

Take a moment to go over some safety tips before the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. During the days before the holidays, you will have more valuables in your home than usual. Remember that you aren’t the only one doing your holiday shopping at this time of year. Burglars and thieves are always on the lookout for a good “bargain” too. Protect your home, yourself and your family.

At Home

Many people like to keep their presents or gifts displayed in the home before and after the holidays. It gives most of us a warm feeling to enjoy the holidays this way. However, the time we spend shopping and visiting makes our houses vulnerable during the holiday season.
· Don’t keep presents near windows where they can be seen from the street, especially after they’ve been unwrapped.
· Never hide presents in the garage! Garage locks are usually the weakest locks you have. A second story closet or attic equipped with a good lock is usually your safest storage area.
· Break up boxes, especially for purchases like TV’s, stereos, or electronic equipment and put them in fold inside-out so items that came in boxes are not visible when recycling.

Handling Money

The tendency to carry large amounts of cash is greater during the holidays than any other season of the year. Use checks or credit cards whenever possible. But if you must use cash:
· Don’t leave cash lying around the house. Keep all money in a safe place.
· Plan your shopping so that you only take approximately the amount of money you’re going to spend.
· Don’t flash your money in public. Keep your bills flat in a wallet so that you can count them without taking them out of your wallet.
· Don’t carry a purse. Keep your wallet and keys in your coat pocket.

Your Car

Holiday purchases left unattended on the back seat of your car invite theft.
· Never leave your car unlocked!
· Pick up major items at the end, rather than the beginning of a shopping trip – most stores offer to hold your purchases at will-call until you are finished shopping.
· Lock all purchases in the trunk of your car, or as a last resort, under a blanket on the car floor.
· Immediately remove all purchases from your car when you return home.

Getting Deliveries

Packages left on door steps are even easier to steal than those left in cars. Don’t give a thief an easy opportunity.
· Schedule deliveries for times when you’re at home.
· If you can’t be home when deliveries are made, make arrangements to have your parcels delivered to a neighbor.
· If you or your neighbors observe any delivery person doing anything that appears to be suspicious, ask to see their identification or call the police.

When Away From Home

If you leave your home for the holidays, especially for any length of time, call the Saint Paul Police Department Community Services Unit at (651) 558-2350 and ask for a House Watch. We can arrange for someone to check on your house. Or tell a neighbor how long you’ll be gone and where you can be reached. Ask them to check your house every day if you’ll be gone for several days at a time. Leave lights and radios or televisions on timers or ask your neighbor to switch them on and off periodically.

On Demand Video with Foreclosure Information

Hennepin County, through its Public Affairs and Taxpayer Services departments, in partnership with Minnesota Home Ownership Center, is now offering its web-based, mortgage foreclosure workshop in Spanish. Other workshops are available in English. The new workshop is intended for Spanish-speaking homeowners and renters worried about foreclosure. The workshop includes information about the foreclosure process, rights during foreclosure, and available assistance. The video is easy to access over the internet, offering valuable information that is available anytime of day. While the workshop focuses on Hennepin County , its information is relevant to residents in other areas in Minnesota .

To view the workshop video in Spanish, visit: http://hennepinmn.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=14


To view the same workshop in English, visit:http://hennepinmn.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=12

This posting brought to you from the Minnesota Home Ownership Center.

Council Hosts Food Access Discussion

On Tuesday, November 11, the District 1 Community Council will host a discussion of food access and food security in our neighborhoods. The meeting is open to the public and will take place at 7pm in the Conway Rec Center.

The USDA uses the term food security to assess the availability and accessibility of food to people in a given area. A community is "food secure" when all of its members have access to a culturally acceptable, nutritionally adequate diet through conventional food sources. District 1 exhibits some signs of being food insecure. These include:

1. High Prices
Our two supermarkets, Cub Foods and Byerly’s, are both located along I-94 in the northern part of the district. This means that residents in outlying neighborhoods have to rely on convenience stores if they do not drive or cannot afford fuel. In July, 2008, a gallon of 1% milk cost $3.10 at Cub, $3.79 at Byerly’s, and on average $4.01 at local convenience stores. A 1-lb loaf of bread cost $1.45 at Cub, $1.67 at Byerly’s, and $2.01 at convenience stores.

2. Auto Dependency
The 63, 70, and 74 buslines run downtown from the SunRay Transit Center, but these routes are limited and buses do not run at high frequency. The 63K, which continues down McKnight Road to the apartment complexes, does not run at all in the middle of the day. 81.6 percent of renters in District 1 own vehicles, compared with only 58.5 in Hamline-Midway, a district in the center of the metro area. Car ownership and fuel prices make the cost of living higher, which means low-income families may have an even harder time paying for food.

3. Scarcity of Fresh Produce and Other Healthy Foods
District 1 does not have a farmers' market or food co-op, which means that locally produced food is nearly impossible to find. In addition, most convenience stores do not carry fresh fruits and vegetables. Most of the restaurants in the district serve fast food, which contains high levels of calories with little nutritional value.

4. Scarcity of Ethnic Foods
Since 1990, Southeast Asian, East African, and Latino populations in District 1 have doubled and tripled. According to 2000 census data, 11 percent of all district residents were born outside of the United States. The food offerings in the district do not reflect the level of cultural diversity that is present today among residents. The Somali community near the intersection of Lower Afton and McKnight Road is particularly underserved: Only one convenience store, the McKnight Superette, offers Halal meat and traditional East African breads, grains, and flours.

Some proposed solutions to these concerns include:

• Installing a mini farmers' market in the parking lot of one of our local churches
• Creating new community gardens like the Totem Town garden (pictured below)
  
• Organizing groups of neighbors to purchase CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) shares
• Offering youth nutrition classes or partnering with local youth gardening programs
  
• Opening a food pantry or expanding the services at Merrick Community Food Shelf

Please join us on Tuesday to discuss food access in District 1 and the proposed solutions. We value your input!

Heidi Evans, District 1 Community Council Intern

Energy Efficiency

As November kicks off, Minnesota is already preparing for a cold winter. This season’s natural gas costs are estimated to go up between 30% and 50%, but there are little things you can do in your own home to cut down on energy costs. Along with saving yourself money this winter, by cutting down on energy use you can help Minnesota cut down on carbon emissions.

Half of Minnesota’s carbon dioxide emissions come from residential use. That is, from transportation, natural gas and electricity. Minnesota has also set a goal of reducing our energy use 80% by 2050, which means we have to drastically change our current lifestyles to meet this goal. When residents take individual action, they can make a real difference because there is already a significant impact that comes from residential energy use. Here is the breakdown of how Minnesotan households use energy:

Heating/AC 55%, Lights, electronics 20%, Appliances 15%, Water heating 10%.

Most electricity is generated from coal or natural gas, and the heat from burning those fuels is largely lost. 66% of the energy created for electricity is lost, and as much as 10% of that is lost in transmission of the electricity.

An easy way for you to take action and make a difference is to make little changes in your household, like using compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL’s), installing a programmable thermostat, getting a home energy audit, and incorporating small behavior changes like shutting off lights, taking shorter showers, and turning down your furnace. If every American home replaced just one light bulbs with a government approved Energy Star qualified bulb, enough energy would be saved to light more than 3 million homes for a year, prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to emissions of more than 800,000 vehicles, and save more than $600 million in annual energy costs (energystar.gov).

A great place for information is the Minnesota Energy Challenge, which helps you evaluate your energy use and gives tips for the future. The average Minnesotan creates over 51,000 pounds of carbon dioxide pollution a year while paying over $6,200 a year for energy. By helping yourselves save money, you are helping to be a steward of your environment and a responsible citizen.

For tips on winter weatherization projects, ways to save money on energy costs this winter and resources for energy efficiency project monies, come to District 1’s Energy Efficiency Tips meeting on November 11^th at the Conway Rec Center at 7 pm. The Conway Rec Center is located at 2090 Conway St, St Paul, MN. Representation from Xcel Energy, the Neighborhood Energy Connection and the Energy Cents Coalition will be present to help you make the smooth transition into the winter months. Join your neighbors in learning about the things you can do this winter to save money and save energy. If everyone does just a little bit, we can make a big difference.

For more information or to take the Minnesota Energy Challenge, visit the credited websites below.

http://www.mncee.org/

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=home.index

Special thanks to Neely Crane-Smith at the Center for Energy and Environment.

Keely Gerhold

District 1 Community Council Intern

Illegal Dumping Along the Bluffs

On Oct 11, 2008 two local residents were walking in the woods of the bluffs around the Battle Creek neighborhood. They walked down the bluffs and by the large pipe leading to the head station along Hwy 61 and Pt. Douglas Road. There they were shocked to find PILES of electronic equipment discarded - hundreds of computers, keyboards, televisions, radios, and other electronic items such as fax machines. Many were damaged and lying around, some were loaded in boxes. The residents suspect that people are using this location as an illegal dump, or thieves are using it to unload what they have stolen after taking what they want, or that some recycler was not doing their job of removing materials but was just dumping there. Further down the way from this site, the residents found another dumping ground by an abandoned house. At this location there were hundreds of Yellow Pages books that had been dumped instead of being delivered. Other people had apparently been using this location for a garbage dump, too.
The residents called the Pioneer Press and a reporter went out there and agreed it was appalling and one of the spookiest things he had ever seen. He did some investigating and made some calls. The county purchased the abandoned house and property last spring for $276,000. Since the 11th, the county has started tearing down the house with the goal of turning the property into parkland along the bluffs.

The residents had also reported the dumping to the county who said that the dumping had all happened within the previous 3 weeks. Also, they knew about all the Yellow Books and garbage at end of road. They were going to have all of this removed at the same time the house was demolished. Then, there will be a fence/gate so that no one can even drive on the road. There will only be room for a truck to get to the head station. That way no one can even get in to dump. It will eventually all turn wild. In the long run, the county also wants to remove the asphalt of the old road in this area.

We all know that there are people who use parts of Battle Creek Park as their own personal dump site. Some residents have been such good neighbors that they have collected this stuff and taken it to be properly disposed of. But you can always call the City to get it removed (651.266.8989).

But as residents, you should know that you need to hire your own garbage haulers. If you want to arrange with your neighbors to do this together, that is a good thing. But we cannot have toxic stuff dumped in our natural areas!! Every year we do a Community Clean-up so there is no excuse for dumping in the woods. In addition, for electronics, every retailer who sells this stuff is supposed to take it back for recycling for free, so again, no excuses.

Here’s what the resident who found this mess had to say…“People are treating our natural resources in Battle Creek with disdain and harming the environment and what a message that speaks about the character of people who would stoop to such a thing. SHAME ON THEM. I don't care what the excuse is. SHAME ON THEM. Lazy stupidity and selfishness on their part, because it is not difficult to get rid of any of these items if you make a few phone calls or read your community newspaper. Yes, some of these things cost money to get rid of, but throwing them in the bluffs costs more money in taxes than just taking care of it the right way, not to mention the future legacy of pollution and mess we are leaving the community and the children.”

District 1 Office Hit by Burglars

Overnight on October 15, the Conway Rec Center and the District 1 office were hit by burglars. The thieves broke into offices at the Center and took computer equipment. The Community Council office was hit the worst with the loss of both our computers, our external hard drive and our wireless base station. Our printer/copier/fax machine was smashed and one phone was destroyed. A desk had some damage, too.

These are some of the basic tools that we need to do our work. We have limited staff, and even more limited resources. We had received a Bremer Foundation Capacity Building grant to purchase this equipment so that we could run more efficiently and work more effectively to provide service to our neighborhoods. This is definitely a setback for the organization.

The loss of the equipment was bad enough, but it was the information - the work - on the computers that is the real setback for us. Although our financial records were not included, everything else we did was on those computers -- and on the back-up system that was also taken... Our database of contacts was on the computer. That information was directory-type information, nothing that was personally sensitive, but we used it to keep track of issues that concerned folks, and how we could get in touch with people. We used it to mail out our fundraising letter, which should be underway now -- that effort is on hold until we can reconstruct the database. But postponing the fundraising puts our budget at risk for next year.

In all this bad news, there has been some good news, however. The support we've had from other district councils, from our members - your neighbors, from the city, and from other nonprofits has been deeply appreciated. Our insurance will cover replacement costs, so within a month we should have the equipment we need. Then it will be a matter of re-doing the work we have been involved in over the past year and a half...

Bear with us as we rebuild. Although these are tough economic times, if you can make a donation to the Council, please do so now, instead of waiting until we can get a formal request sent out. We've done good work in the past year. Let's not lose ground in that regard. Thanks for your support!

District 1 Clean-up Cleans Up!!

The neighborhood held another successful community clean-up on October 11 at Harding High School. We had fabulous help from our volunteers, including about fourteen young men from Boys Totem Town. What would we do without their energy and muscle power??!! And we had three crews picking up stuff from elders in the neighborhood – next year we’ll need a fourth crew, there was so much work to be done! What a fantastic job by the senior pick-up crews, the Totem Town crew, and each volunteer who spent a sunny Saturday helping make our neighborhood even more beautiful. Thanks to everyone for a job well done. Here is what we accomplished…

We managed to provide almost two full truck-loads of reusable furniture and goods for Bridging – the organization that provides a new start for women and families leaving abusive relationships. We also salvaged tools and supplies for the Totem Town Community Garden, and for local groups of kids who play hockey!!

We recycled almost two dumpster loads full of electronics, and thanks to the volunteers who were separating metals from plastics, we had more than a dumpster full of metal that will be recycled. We had 30 bicycles that will be donated to people who need a way to get around the city. And we had a record number of fluorescent bulbs that will be safely disposed of. Lots of tires were collected for recycling, and a truck full of old appliances.

Every year there seems to be particular type of material that everyone is getting rid of, and this year it was construction waste – drywall, plywood, cement debris and so on. But this also seemed to be the year for everyone to get rid of their old gas-powered lawnmowers!! Are we going back to hand-powered mowers, or is someone doing great business selling new power-mowers?

A special thanks this year to Little Oven, who donated the pizzas to feed the hungry hordes of fabulous volunteers, and to Culvers, who donated certificates for free frozen custard to a large portion of those who came to drop off stuff, as well as to our volunteers. We hope that our residents will stop by these businesses and thank them for their commitment to our beautiful corner of St. Paul.

Capital Improvement Budget Suggestions

Starting next January or February, the City of Saint Paul begins its two-year Capital Improvement Budget process. Residents from our different neighborhoods form task forces that help the city prioritize projects dealing with our streets/utilities, cultural sites (like libraries and parks), and economic development. Money assigned for building new projects, not for maintenance of existing buildings or structures - new construction that will represent long-term improvements to our area.

Each district council, and other organizations propose projects for prioritizing. In our area we have proposals we are developing for improvements at Taylor Park, at Highwood Hills Park, the Warner Road Bridge, for bicycle lanes along Ruth and perhaps a northern east/west route, bridge improvements over the freeway, and for the Pederson pathway through Conway Park.

Are there other projects you would like to see proposed for the district?

Transportation Issues - Bicycle Connections

by Ed Lehr

District 1 Resident

Residents and the District Council are concerned about how easy it is to get around our neighborhoods, especially if you don’t have a car. For many of us - kids, elders and others – walking or biking can only be a viable option if there are safe ways to bike and walk. If you live on one side of the freeway and want to get to the other side, there are limited ways to get there. McKnight, Ruth, White Bear and the pedestrian bridge between Birmingham and Barclay are the only connections between our neighborhoods north and south of the freeway.

One place that has been identified as a problem in our north-south connections is where McKnight Road passes under I-94. This is a particularly difficult situation because McKnight is the border between St. Paul and Maplewood, and because MNDOT is responsible for upkeep around the freeway. For a detailed description and pictures of the issues related to bicycling in this area, click here. This is a large file and may take a while to download.

If you are interested in helping to develop proposals to the City on how to improve our streets for everyone - pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists - contact the Council at district1council@aol.com or call 651.501.6345. The City chooses projects to work on every two years as a part of its Capital Improvement Budget process (CIB). The next round of proposals is due later this year for processing in 2009.

May 27, 2008

National Night Out 2008

National Night Out, America's night out against crime, was founded 25 years ago and according to the official website has the following goals:

• Heighten crime and drug prevention awareness
• Generate support for, and participation in, local anticrime programs
• Strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships
• Send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back

This past August 5th, neighbors across America celebrated National Night Out. Saint Paul's District 1 was no exception. Several neighborhoods held local gatherings and barbeques. Faith Alliance Church hosted a successful gathering of both their Parish and the local community. Here are some pictures from the fun family-friendly celebration at Faith Alliance Church:

Here's a great video from the National Night Out for our neighbors over in Roseville, MN: