Civic Campus is Open In an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, the Fridley Civic Campus was closed during the months of April and May while many City employees worked remotely. As of June 1, both the City Hall and Public Safety areas of the Civic Campus have re-opened to members of the public.
Special precautions have been established to help remind visitors of the importance of social distancing, and increased cleaning of frequently touched surfaces has also been scheduled. We look forward to serving you the next time you come visit us at Fridley City Hall!
Temporary Outdoor Dining In recognition of the difficulties facing restaurant owners during the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Fridley City Council has temporarily suspended the typical approval process for restaurants to add outdoor dining areas.
Rather than the usual 60-day approval process for outdoor space, restaurants can complete a Temporary Outdoor Dining Registration Form and submit it to the City. All spaces added via this process are considered temporary and must be removed by November 15, 2020.
Alcohol License Holders have additional requirements for fencing and insurance. They must complete the application, a certificate of liquor liability insurance, and a site plan indicating where fencing will be located and how ingress/egress will be provided.
If you have any questions about this process, please contact Ryan George, Deputy Director of Public Safety – Police at Ryan.George@FridleyMN.gov
Code Enforcement During the March edition of this newsletter, it was shared that a moratorium on code enforcement actions by the City had been established for residential and commercial properties. The City has now transitioned back to normal in this area of operations, and it is expected that all property owners continue to maintain their buildings and grounds to the standards established in the Fridley City Code to avoid any potential need for corrective action.
Minnesota Pollution Control Grant Opportunity Does your business use ethylene oxide for sterilization purposes? The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has a new grant program to help finance projects that reduce emissions of this harmful carcinogen. A total of $125,000 is available for disbursement with a maximum award amount of $25,000 per applicant. All applicants must be prepared to provide a 25 percent match.
The application deadline is August 28, 2020. Any specific questions regarding this program can be emailed to grants.pca@state.mn.us with the subject line “EtO emission reduction grant program”.
Temporary Sign Deadline Extended In March, the City decided to temporarily adjust its temporary sign policy. This temporary adjustment was set to expire on April 30, but the deadline has now been extended to August 31.
Typically, businesses are allowed two temporary sign permits per year for 14 days at a time and the permit fee is $100. Staff has decided to implement a temporary policy that waives the permit fee for temporary signs and does not count towards your yearly signage allowance through August 31. This temporary policy applies to all businesses in Fridley.
Temporary signs installed during this period still need to meet the City requirements and be placed 10 feet from the property line. For additional information, or questions, please contact Stacy Stromberg, Planning Manager at 763-572-3595 or Stacy.Stromberg@FridleyMN.gov.
We will reassess this temporary change to policy as August 31 approaches.
Minnesota state law (M.S. § 204B.195) allows individuals time off from work to serve as an Election Judge, similar to serving on jury duty. Individuals must provide their employers a written notice 20 days prior to the election. The employer may reduce the salary or wage of an employee by the amount paid to the Election Judge during the time the employee was absent from the place of employment. Fridley Election Judges are paid $10 per hour.
For each election, Fridley needs over 100 Election Judges to run the City’s 12 polling locations. Fridley Election Judges serve in several different capacities including greeting voters, registering new voters, demonstrating how to mark a ballot, maintaining accurate ballot counts and certifying polling location results.
There are a few requirements to serve as an Election Judge:
• Must be eligible to vote in Minnesota
• Must be able to read, write and speak English fluently
• Must attend mandatory Election Judge training
• Must not be a candidate in the election, or a family member of a candidate
• Must not be a family member of any other Election Judge in the same polling location.
Business owners, or their employees, who are willing to serve the community as an election judge, please visit FridleyMN.gov/Elections, email Elections@FridleyMN.gov or call 763-572-3523 for more information.
Thank you to everyone who has already completed their 2020 Census! The U.S Constitution requires that each decade a count, or census, is taken of America’s population. The state of Minnesota continues to lead the nation in Census self-response rates.
Due to COVID-19 the U.S. Census Bureau has adapted and delayed Census operations to protect the health and safety of staff and the public. Even though the Census Bureau is changing operations, you, your employees, and customers can still respond to the census online or over the phone. Filling out the Census online is currently the safest option with social distancing measures in place, for both our community members and Census Bureau staff.
Information collected from the Census is used for population counts and determines how $675 billion in federal spending is allocated to local communities each year, including more than $15 billion distributed to Minnesota communities. This funding helps to support education, workforce development, hospitals, emergency services, and more. Census data helps businesses to better understand and serve their customers, where to open new locations, recruit for employees, and provides funding for workforce development.
If you or someone you know haven't completed the Census yet, that's okay! Individuals can still respond until October 31, but we encourage you not to wait. Individuals can fill out the forms even if they have not gotten an invitation in the mail. Responses can be completed by visiting my2020census.gov or calling 844-330-2020. Census information is also available in 59 languages and can be found at 2020census.gov/en/languages. If individuals do not respond, Census workers will be visiting addresses August through October for an in-person count.
How your business can help promote the 2020 Census.
• Provide information about the 2020 Census and how to respond to your employees and customers. Informational posters and flyers can be found at 2020Census.gov/en/partners/outreach-materials.html.
• Allow employees time at work to fill out their census forms either online, by phone, or by paper.
• Learn more by visiting FridleyMN.gov/2020Census or 2020Census.gov.
• Reach out to Alyssa Kruzel, Community Engagement Specialist with the City of Fridley, Alyssa.Kruzel@FridleyMN.gov or 763-572-3579 with any questions or concerns regarding the 2020 Census.
