News from the City of Lake Elmo

March 17, 2017
 
Monday, March 20 - Park Commission Meeting 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, March 21 - City Council Meeting  7:00  p.m.
 
 
Links to the 2017 City Meetings, Agendas and Meeting Minutes:
 
                                    City Meetings
 
City Agendas and Minutes
                                                                               

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Heading Out of Town for Spring Break?
Keep your home safe while you're gone!

If you are planning to go out of town for spring break, here are a few tips from the Washington County Sheriff's Office.

- Going somewhere fun? Don't post about it on social media! Wait until you return  to post your pictures. Posting information about the date and destination of your trip or posting pictures while you are gone on social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter makes you an easy target for potential burglars. 

- Burglars prefer to break into homes that are unoccupied. Set timers on lights, radios and televisions to turn them on during appropriate times to make it look like someone is home. Ask a neighbor you trust to put your trash cans out on trash day and pick up your mail and newspaper. You can also temporarily stop delivery of your mail. Arrange for snow removal if the weather forecast calls for it.

- The Washington County Sheriff's Office provides Vacation Home Checks to those where we are the local law enforcement agency. More info here: https://www.co.washington.mn.us/912/Vacation-Home-Checks


Lake Elmo; A 90 Year Retrospective View


In 1928, the view looking east from the center of Lake Elmo was a classic rural landscape. You saw a cluster of businesses on the south side of the road and a farmhouse with farm fields gracing the north side of the road.



In 2017, the landscape certainly shows more development but it is still recognizable after almost 90 years. The north side of the road has changed from agricultural to a Fury Motors auto dealership. But the community still has utility poles and along the south side of the road you still experience a line of small businesses, just like the village had in 1928. In the distance you can still make out open agricultural land in the 2017 picture.

In the years I have lived in Lake Elmo, I have often heard how people speak of Lake Elmo as a "breath of fresh air," an island of rural life nestled between suburban communities on either side to east and west as they speed to and from work.

A line from the movie, "Field of Dreams" actor James Earl Jones, playing the character of writer Terence Mann, says, " America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again."

Lake Elmo still has a chance to preserve a bit of its heritage and charm. Main Street was once the center of a small village. It still has the wide street and the small lots. I hope there is room for old and new Lake Elmo to coexist to the benefit of us all.


Source: Rolf Larson; first picture courtesy of the Gorman Restaurant Collection. Second photo courtesy of Rolf Larson


  
Coming Soon: Road Construction Season!

With the mild winter that we had this year, work is scheduled to start as early as next week (week of March 20) on the Downtown Lake Elmo Street and Utility Improvement Project.

The following work will occur in 2017:
  • Storm sewer, water, and sanitary sewer installation between 32nd Street and the railroad tracks.
  • Road reconstruction between 32nd Street and the railroad tracks.
  • Completion of sidewalks and landscaping on 30th Street and all areas in the downtown and south of the railroad tracks on County Highway 17 (Lake Elmo Avenue).
  • The final layer of pavement on all roads that were reconstructed in 2016.
  • Any clean-up work, signing, striping, and other miscellaneous work to finalize the project.
Washington County will begin sending out weekly construction updates; as they have over the 2015 and 2016 construction seasons and we will continue to share that information every week in the Fresh.  

As in the past, copies of the Washington County updates will be available to pick up at the Lake Elmo Post Office and The Lake Elmo Inn.

Next week at the Lake Elmo Library

  
For more information please click here  EVENTS

 
Spring Landscape Workshops 


The East Metro Water Resource Education Program and Master Gardeners in Washington County invite you to join us for some Spring Dreaming!
 
We are offering fun, informal workshops to help you with ideas and how-tos for your own property including:
 
*             Small landscaping projects: incorporating gardens, natural areas, and spaces for play;
*             Managing drainage and erosion issues using raingardens, swales, dry creeks while protecting water resources;
*             Creating habitat for pollinators, birds and wildlife on your property;
*             Managing invasive species such as buckthorn.
 
Enjoy an evening with your community and get helpful advice from Master Gardeners and Water Resource Educators.
 
***RSVPs received at least 2 days before the workshop will receive a free aerial print out of their property to use during the workshop***  
North Saint Paul - April 6 @ 6p.m. Casey Lake Park Building
St. Paul Park - April 11 @ 6p.m. City Hall
Oakdale - April 18 @ 6p.m. Washington Conservation District Office
Hugo - April 27 @ 6p.m. City Hall
Forest Lake - May 2 @ 6p.m. City Hall
 
RSVP to the workshops at: tinyurl.com/SpringDream2017
 
For more information contact Jenn Radtke: jradtke@mnwcd.org or 651-330-8220 x44