You are Invited!!

The District Council and the Police Storefront are hosting an open house on Monday March 22 from 5-8p and on Saturday March 27 from noon-4p at our new location - 2105 1/2 Old Hudson Rd, in SunRay Shopping Center Breezeway across from Great Clips.

We will have refreshments, a chance to vote for board members, and meet-and-greets with the following public officials:

• Monday - Police Chief John Harrington, Sheriff Bob Fletcher, City Council President Kathy Lantry, and Ramsey County Commissioner Jim McDonough
• Saturday - Asst. Police Chief Matt Bostrom, Representative Sheldon Johnson, Senator Mee Moua, City Council President Kathy Lantry

We have also extended an invitation to Mayor Chris Coleman, but haven't yet heard if he will attend.

We want to hear from neighbors about what is on your mind, so stop by and check us out!!

Save Money and Energy with Appliance Rebates

Minnesota is implementing an Appliance Rebate Program starting March 1. This program is intended to help working families update their old, inefficient appliances with new Energy Star-certified appliances that save money and energy.

Commonly referred to as "Cash for Appliances", the program gives rebates ranging from $50 to $200 depending on the type of appliance purchased and whether the old appliance was recycled. Families can use the rebates on large household appliances such as washing machines, dishwashers, refrigerators and freezers.

For more information visit the Minnesota Office of Energy Security Website or call 651.296.5175.

Submitted by Representative Sheldon Johnson.

Volunteers Invited to Annual Park Clean Up

The Spring Parks Clean Up and Neighborhood Litter Campaign is an opportunity for the community to give Parks, Recreation Centers and our neighborhoods a first-rate spring cleaning.

Volunteers can pick up supplies at any of six Kick-off Celebrations across the city. Volunteers pick a park, rec center, street or alley of their choice and pick up trash.

When: Saturday, April 10 with Kick-offs beginning at 8:30a; Clean Up from 9-11a

Where: Parks across the city. (the Kick off locations haven't been set yet...)

How: Register at this link or just show up at a Kick-Off location.

For more information, visit the parks site or email environment@stpaul.gov or call 651.632.2459

Could High Fuel Costs Benefit District 1?

There is no doubt that high gas prices have a negative effect on the overall economy. While many people have suffered through the economic downturn of the last year and a half, high gas prices have added insult to injury.

Here in the Twin Cities, many people commute to work in the city from outlying suburbs 3o or more miles away, each way, from their employers. At $2.50 a gallon for a vehicle that gets 25 miles a gallon, that's about $1500 a year in gas costs. For a couple that commutes separately, that's about $3000 a year. The long commutes can also take away an hour or two of people's time from each and every work day. Time is money, too.

District 1 is only about 5 miles from downtown St. Paul, and less than 20 miles from downtown Minneapolis. While the last few decades have seen may people moving further out into the suburbs, perhaps the increased financial burden of high gas costs will give people cause to start looking back towards the residential neighborhoods they once left behind. City life may become more trendy again for the masses.

Overall, high gas prices hurt job creation, increase the cost of living, and generally irritate just about everyone. But for District 1, high gas prices might just be another reason to live here.

Submitted by resident (and D1 President) Greg Beaumont (Battle Creek)

Pothole Alert!!

This has been an incredibly bad year for potholes - lots of temperature changes and snow that melts and refreezes on the streets.

But remember, we can make sure the bad potholes are filled!!

The City has what is supposed to be a 24/7 pothole hotline - call 651.292.6600 and report them!! You can also call 651.266.8989, the general number to call about any city issues.

Public Works won't know where the potholes are unless you call...

St. Paul Sidewalk Poetry Contest

Put together your poems! It's time for the Annual Saint Paul Sidewalk Poetry Contest to begin. The contest, in partnership with Public Art Saint Paul, will accept original poetry submissions from Saint Paul residents until March 28, 2010. To submit, please visit the poetry website. Winners will have their work stamped into city sidewalks as part of the St. Paul Public Works sidewalk replacement program!

Contestants must be residents of St. Paul and can submit up to two poems suitable for the general public. The poems must be in English and must fit within a maximum of 10 lines, 40 characters per line (including spaces), and 250 characters overall (including spaces).

Selected poets will receive a $150 prize and installation of their poem in city sidewalks with their names credited on the city website (not the sidewalk). The entry fee is $3.

This sidewalk project is funded by various philanthropic organizations, by Public Art Saint Paul, by the public art percentage of fees for development projects, and Readings for Writers, NOT by public taxes.

Submitted Public Art Saint Paul and St. Paul Public Works

Red Rock Corridor Station Planning Begins

We've all heard of the Central Corridor Light Rail project - it has been the center of the city's transportation attention for several years now. And we can all agree that it has and will continue to have a huge impact on the city in the coming years.

But there has also been transportation planning going on for our neck of the East Metro that has gotten much less press. This is the planning for the Red Rock Corridor - or a commuter rail corridor that follows Highway 61 from Hastings to our district and then along the river to the Union Depot. This has never been thought of as a light rail line, but as a commuter rail line - using existing tracks.

When the planners did a study of potential ridership for a commuter rail line, they found that currently there is not the ridership to support even this more cost-effective train. But projections are that the ridership will be there in the not-so-distant future, and anyone driving into St. Paul from the east knows that there is a current automobile congestion problem in the morning and a complementary problem going the other way in the evening.

So the current plan is to put in place a new commuter bus service along the future rail line in order to build ridership. As a part of that process, the affected communities have formed a Station Area Planning group to look at the stations along the route. As you can see on the map, the current park-and-ride lot at Lower Afton and Highway 61 is our proposed station.

The District 1 Community Council is representing St. Paul is this planning process and will be active in getting neighbors together to talk about what this station will be and how it will affect the surrounding area. Look for notice of upcoming community meetings about this project SOON!

Sustainability Conference

On Saturday, March 13, the Alliance for Sustainability is holding the "Twin Cities Sustainable Communities Conference". The event will be at the Central Lutheran Church, 333 12th Street South, in Minneapolis. It will run from 8:30a - 4:30p. This is a free event.

This is a great opportunity to meet and talk to people from other Twin Cities districts, share experiences and learn from each other. There will be workshops and skill-building sessions focused on such topics as energy efficiency, community gardening and composting, tree stewardship, and creating welcoming and safe streets. There will be workshops for school, church, block club groups, and for specific geographic areas.

The event organizers are encouraging groups from specific neighborhoods to attend so that folks can begin to work together on specific issues.

The event is free and open to the public, but if you are interested in attending as a member of a team from our area, contact Betsy at 651.578.7600.

Eastview Rec - Boxing and Weights

The City of St. Paul Department of Parks and Recreation has partnered with Brunette Boxing and Twin City Barbell to keep the Eastview Recreation Center open. Because of the funding that will be provided by installation of a communications monopole at the site, city staff will be on-site Monday-Friday from 2:30-5:30p. Additional hours will be provided by the staff of the Boxing and Barbell groups.

For more information, contact Eastview Rec Center at 651.772.7845, Twin City Barbell at 651.490.0310, of Brunette Boxing at 651.276.4437

Submitted by St. Paul Parks and Rec

Lenten Fish Fry at St. Pascals

St. Pascal's Men's Club is hosting a Fish Fry on Friday's starting February 19th through March 26th in the St. Pascal Baylon Brioschi Social Hall (1757 Conway St.) from 4:30 to 7p. The church is located on the corner of East 3rd St. and White Bear Avenue (use the Flandrau St. entrance).

The all-you-can-eat menu will consist of fried and baked cod, coleslaw, mixed steamed vegetables, au gratin and seasoned fried potatoes, macaroni and cheese, dinner roll, dessert, and coffee/water. Milk, bottled water and pop are available. The cost is $9 for adults (12 and up), $4 for children (6-11 years), and children 5 and under are free.

Proceeds go toward the purchase of equipment, uniforms, and supplies for the St. Pascal's K-8 Grade School Physical Education Program and the extra-curricular sports activities.

Submitted by the St. Pascal's Men's Club

Eagle Scout Ceremony Saturday, Feb. 6

On Saturday, February 6 between 1 and 3p, four young men will be receiving their Eagle Scout badges and designation at St. Pascal's School (1757 Conway St.). Spencer Perron, Noah Ruhling, Tyler Evans and Stephen Katz will each receive their badges in this important and impressive ceremony.

These scouts have been guided through their efforts by scoutmaster Mike Aeling, former District 1 resident. He has done more to promote Eagle Scouts and scouting than anyone in the area, we are told. Thanks to you, Mike, for your work with young people!

Please join the community in congratulating these young men, and help them celebrate Saturday by coming to the St. Pascal's school cafeteria for the ceremony.

Way to go guys!!

Submitted by Celeste Yanisch.

Recycling Facts for St. Paul

For over nine years Eureka Recycling, the City of St. Paul, and St. Paul residents have worked together towards zero waste (for years before that, it was the City and the Neighborhood Energy Consortium). Last year St. Paul residents recycled over 21,000 tons through the curbside and multifamily recycling programs. This saved the equivalent of 4 million gallons of gas - enough for 6,838 cars to drive for a year! And this is only one of the many daily choices that St. Paul residents are making to reduce their waste and protect the environment. Every time a resident rethinks a purchasing decision with waste reduction in mind (i.e., looking for less packaging, buying items used instead of new, etc.) or composts their food scraps at home instead of throwing them in the trash, they are reducing their own (and thus the City's) waste and energy use.

The neighborhood clean ups are another way residents help. Here are some highlights from last year's clean ups:

• The greenhouse gas emissions reduced by reusing and recycling city-wide in the Clean-up program is equivalent to saving 51,181 gallons of gasoline - enough to take 87 cars off the road for one year.
• 47% of materials brought to the Clean-ups were reused or recycled, which both reduced the cost of Clean-ups and created a positive environmental impact.
• The City saved $4000 due to the large amount of materials reused at the Clean-ups (an increase of 40% from the previous year).

And just so you know... The average vehicle at a St. Paul neighborhood Clean-up brings about 490 pounds to discard (47% of which was recycled or reused in 2009) and pays $16 to discard it.

Through the Clean-up program, this load costs $49 total (including the resident's $16 fee) to get rid of; if brought individually to a transfer station the average load would cost over $100 to discard. A savings to you, the city, and to the environment!!

Keep up the good work!!

Submitted by Eureka Recycling

Perennial Plant Donation to the City

Blooming St. Paul is a program of the City within its Parks Department. It is responsible for the plantings and art that beautify our city. Our own Suburban Avenue planters are a part of Blooming St. Paul.

The program is sponsoring a perennial donation event that "is designed to provide many benefits to the Saint Paul community" and to help enhance "neighborhood landscape by donating perennials that will be planted throughout the City."

But there are only certain perennials that the City will accept. They are:

1. Bergenia of any variety
2. Cone flower - Rudbecka fugida, 'Goldsturm"
3. Cone flower - Echinacea purpurea, 'Magnus', 'Kims Knee High', 'White Swan'
4. Coral bells - Heuchera any variety
5. Lily - Lilium asiatic or oriental; any dwarf variety under 18" in height
6. False spirea - Astilbe japonica, any variety
7. Helenium (common sneezeweed) - Helenium autumnale, any variety
8. Prairie dropseed - Sporobolus heterolepis
9. Tufted hair grass - Deschampsia cespitosa, 'Northern Lights' or 'Schottland'
10. Salvia - Salvia x sylvestris, 'May Night'

The donation dates are - June 9, July 14, August 11, and September 8 from 7a to 6:30p.

Downtown Parks Maintenance Facility, 83 Water St. West.

Contact Angela Koebler for more information - 651.248.2017, angela.koebler@ci.stpaul.mn.us

Submitted by St. Paul Parks and Recreation

Your Neighbors Receive City Awards

On January 22, three of your neighbors were acknowledged by the city-wide Neighborhood Honor Roll. The event was held at St. Thomas University and was attended by over 200 residents and dignitaries. Kathy Lantry, President of the City Council and our city council representative, gave out the awards and talked about the importance of district councils and neighborhood participation in making our city a great place to live.

This year's District 1 honorees were:

Angela Stehr - a long-time board member and neighborhood activist known especially for her work on land use and environmental issues;

Cindy Fernlund - a neighbor who worked over a number of years to get new playground equipment at Taylor Park in the Highwood neighborhood (see earlier blogs about this great success!!);

Joe Wight - a representative of the Centro Properties Group that owns and manages Sun Ray Shopping Center - Joe and his company have given substantial in-kind donations making it possible for both the district council and the Police Storefront to exist at the center.

We want to thank these dedicated neighbors for all their efforts! And the next time you are down at City Hall, check out the Honor Roll plaques outside City Council Chambers (3rd floor) for the names of all the honorees over the history of this great event!

For a video summary of the event, check out this city site.

The full ceremony is available here.