City Council Meeting
The City Council meeting will be held Wednesday, Aug. 2. The work session will start at 5:30 p.m. and meeting at 7 p.m. The move to Wednesday is necessary in order to accommodate the annual Edina Night to Unite event on Tuesday, Aug. 1.
New City Website
The City’s new website is scheduled to launch Thursday, Aug. 3. The new, streamlined website has a fresher design and is mobile friendly. The project also included creating stronger web presences for the City’s enterprise facilities: Braemar Arena, Braemar Field, Braemar Golf Course, Centennial Lakes Park, Edina Aquatic Center, Edina Art Center, Edina Liquor, Edinborough Park and the Edina Senior Center. All of those sites got a makeover and improved navigation.
Passenger Rail Open House
The City’s Engineering staff and their consultants hosted the first “community conversation,” or open house, for the Passenger Rail Community Engagement Report project this week. Over 180 people attended the meeting, during which attendees reviewed display boards with information about the study process, wrote answers to questions on a “question wall,” participated at discussion tables, and shared their thoughts and opinions regarding the benefits and challenges of passenger rail in the Dan Patch Corridor. This energetic and successful meeting resulted in great deal of useful information for the project team. In addition to other engagement opportunities, there will be a second “community conversation” on Sept. 7, with a Transportation COmmission recommendation to Council expected in October.
2017 Edina Urban Vision Symposium
Mark your calendars. The 2017 Edina Urban Vision Symposium will be Friday, Oct. 13. The featured event of this year’s symposium will be the Urban Land Institute’s UrbanPlan for Public Officials program. I will seek input from Council Members during the first week of August concerning the proposed guest list for this event.
Council Chambers
The original dais microphones in the Council Chambers have been replaced to improve performance and reliability. The new microphones, which are an upgraded version of the previous mics, are RF shielded, which will help protect them from wireless interference from mobile devices. Two additional microphones were added for the benefit of people seated at the lower segments of the dais. The final work to program them into our Crestron system is scheduled to be complete next week.
Centennial Lakes Park
The Centennial Lakes Farmers Market is now in full swing with two dozen vendors setting up along the walkways in front of the Hughes Pavilion. The market runs from 3 to 7 p.m. every Thursday through September.
Lake Cornelia Neighborhood
The Lake Cornelia neighborhood has fulfilled all the requirements to become a recognized neighborhood association.
Building Inspections
YTD 2016, City staff in our Building Inspections Division had conducted 9,331 building inspections. YTD 2017, staff have conducted 10,787 inspections – a 15.6 percent increase.
EMS Response Stats
YTD 2016, the Fire Department staff had responded to 2,839 emergency responses with 2,196 (77 percent) of them being EMS incidents. YTD 2017, the Fire Department has responded to 3,104 total incidents with 2,462 (79 percent) of them being EMS incidents. YTD responses are up 9.3 percent. EMS runs are up 12.1percent over last year at this time.
66 West
There will be a grand opening event for Beacon Interfaith’s 66 West building on Thursday, Aug. 3 from 5 to 8 p.m. Council Members were invited directly by Beacon.
New MAC Website
Earlier this month, the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) launched a new website for Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The most sought-after information is now available right on the site’s home page, including real-time data about flight status, security wait times and parking availability. Travelers in both terminals could already text their questions to customer information assistants in real time. The new website includes a live chat feature to enable real-time electronic communications from off-airport as well. The result: customers can now engage with airport staff in more ways than ever, via chat, email, phone, social media and text. The site is responsive, meaning users have quick, easy access to the full range of airport information regardless of the kind of device they use. I encourage you to sign up on the home page to receive airport news directly to your email account. That way, you’ll be among the first to know what’s happening at MAC airports.
Minnehaha Watershed District
The Minnehaha Creek Watershed District’s draft Watershed Management Plan was distributed for 60-day review and comment on July 7. During this review period, the District will meet with its Policy and Technical Advisory Committees that were involved throughout development of the Plan. The District will also host a meeting for interested city, county, and agency staff and policymakers who are not part of these committees to come and learn about the draft Plan, ask questions and provide input. This meeting will be held Thursday, Aug. 10 from 8:30 to 10 a.m. at the Minnetonka Community Center, 14600 Minnetonka Blvd., Minnetonka. A light breakfast will be served. Please RSVP by Aug. 4 if you plan to attend.
HRRC Event
Human Rights & Relations Commissioners would like to invite the Council to attend an upcoming event that they are sponsoring. The event is entitled “Contributions of Refugees & Immigrants.” The event will explore the contributions refugees and immigrants make in Minnesota communities and some of the conflicts they experience. Speakers are Professor Stephen Meili, Zaynab Abdi, Emilia Avalos and Suud Olat. The event will be held 7 p.m. Aug. 14 at Centennial Lakes Park’s Hughes Pavilion.
Aquatic Center Update
The weather has been heating up and so has attendance at the Aquatic Center. On Saturday, July 15, when the temperature was 96 degrees, we had more than 2,600 guests visit the Aquatic Center. It was also a record-setting day at the Concession Stand where we sold 1,284 items for a revenue total of $3,823!
Through July 17, we’ve had 19,792 paid daily admissions, which includes 2,342 after 5 p.m. and 2,334 individuals who visited as part of a group.
We also received our second unannounced audit by Ellis & Associates. We achieved the “Exceeds” rating on the audit conducted by the Ellis & Associates staff person. The audit included videotaping the performance of 10 lifeguards while they were on duty and rating their performance, conducting three simulated rescues, and an administrative portion evaluating record keeping and document availability. Ellis & Associates routinely conducts three audits per season.
City Infrastructure Tour
Council Members are invited to tour key pieces of City of Edina Public Works on the 2017 Board and Commission Infrastructure Tour. On this tour, you will see the inside of a water treatment plant, see four stories underground in the City’s largest pump station, and take part in the renewal and re-imagination of public works as you learn the answer to the question “what does it mean to have a sound public infrastructure?”
When: 6-7:30 p.m. Aug. 10
Where: Park in the upper level of the Jerry’s parking ramp
What: We will board a bus to travel between stops. Wear sturdy shoes and casual clothes. Be ready to take stairs. You may choose to opt out of portions of the tour as some locations on the tour may be dusty and loud.
- 5:45-6 p.m. – Staff on site at Jerry’s Ramp, welcome to tour, walk down to Water Treatment Plant
- 6 p.m.-6:20 p.m. – On site at Water Treatment Plant 5
- 6:20-6:30 p.m. – Travel to Lift Station 6
- 6:30-6:50 p.m. – On site at Lift Station 6
- 6:50-7 p.m. – Travel to Southdale Water Tower
- 7-7:20 p.m. – On site at Southdale Water Tower
- 7:20-7:30 p.m. – Return to Jerry’s Ramp
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