Thank you to Brooklyn Park for hosting the November board meeting.

Crest View Senior Communities CEO Shirley Barnes (standing in the attached photo) provided insights on trends. For the second time in her career, she’s seeing a saturation of the market for senior housing and a workforce shortage on the horizon. Providers like Crest View are responding, partly by partnering with others in the community.

Rep. Erin Koegel reported on a Highway 47 safety audit released this week. She’s interested in more stakeholders coming to the table in a program called Toward Zero Deaths.

Troy Olsen reported we have seven changes in our legislative delegation for 2019. All will be invited to the January Board meeting.

Brooklyn Park City Councilwoman Lisa Jacobson provided an overview of what’s happening in town. It’s impressive. Jobs are growing faster than the state average. There’s interest in building a performing arts center at North Hennepin (on the proposed Blue Line). Maybe a bonding request in the future? D’Amico is taking over food service at the Edinburgh Golf Course Clubhouse in January.

New things I learned from city updates:

• Expect a four-hour wait at Top Golf in Brooklyn Center during peak periods.
• #NoStove or #NoOven is trending in Maple Grove because there are plenty of restaurant choices for those who don’t want to cook.
• Mounds View is working on a memorial park idea that would include recognition of two residents who died in the 35W bridge collapse.
• Ramsey celebrated the largest solar garden of its kind at a grand opening with Connexus.
• Dayton is hosting an open house for the Dayton Parkway Interchange (formerly Brockton Interchange) at Faithbrook Church, 14100 Elm Creek Road, Dayton, on Nov. 26, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

I hope you have the January Board meeting on your calendar. We’ll elect two new leaders (Mayor Jerry Koch and Mayor Ryan Karasek are headed for the ballot). We’ll thank outgoing leaders Mayor Kathi Hemken and Mayor Dave Bartholomay. We’ll hear from a panel of Community Partners. And, we’ll share our legislative work plan with legislators who can make it.

We start (and finish) an hour earlier, 4:30 p.m., on Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2019, at the Ewald conference center, 1000 Westgate Dr., St. Paul.

Next month, the Operating Committee will meet Wednesday, Dec. 19, 11:30 a.m., in Circle Pines.

Happy Thanksgiving!

North Metro Mayors Minute for the October 2018 Operating Committee Meeting

Mayor Kathi Hemken will tell you the hardest part of operating construction equipment is getting in the cab while wearing shoes with heals. Knocking down a building to make room for a new city hall and police department in New Hope is a breeze.

Thank you, Mayor Hemken and City Manager Kirk McDonald, for hosting the Operating Committee last week. I enjoyed seeing the progress on your new campus, set to open in July.

Here are a few meeting agenda items you’ll hear about at the next North Metro Mayors Board of Directors meeting Nov. 14, 5:30 p.m., Brooklyn Park City Hall:

• Eight candidate forums are done. Questions from the audience were varied. Healthcare got the most questions.
• Troy Olsen will discuss the latest proposed 2019 legislative work plan. A few items were added since the last Board meeting.
• We’ll have new NMMA leadership in 2019. Mayor Hemken and Mayor Bartholomay have completed their two consecutive two-year terms allowed in the by-laws. We owe them a tremendous amount of thanks! I expect a vote at the January meeting, but names of volunteers will be presented Nov. 14.
• Meeting locations for 2019 were determined. Start times were adjusted on a couple to accommodate legislators’ schedules. Details are at the end of this update.

At our September board meeting, a few questions were raised, and observations were shared on the topic of senior housing. At the Nov.14 meeting, Crest View Senior Communities CEO Shirley Barnes will be on the top of the agenda to answers questions from you and offer her insights on what’s happening with senior housing in the north metro. Crest View has been a valued Community Partner for many years. I’m pleased to offer this connection to further the conversation.

See you at the polls Nov. 6 and in Brooklyn Park Nov. 14. As always, feel free to call or email with questions and suggestions. Thanks. J

Jill Brown, Executive Director

Cell: 612-889-2611

Email: JillCBrown@msn.com

2019 schedule:

Board:

Jan. 16, St. Paul (Ewald/capitol?), 4:30 – 6:30

March 20, Day at the Capitol, Board 3-5 p.m.

May 15, Coon Rapids, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Sept. 18, New Hope, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Nov. 20, Maple Grove, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Operating Committee, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Feb. 20, Blaine

April 17, Andover

June 19, New Brighton

Oct. 16, Ramsey

Dec. 18, Mounds View

North Metro Mayors Minute—September Board Meeting

Thank you, Coon Rapids, for hosting the North Metro Mayors Board of Directors this week. Coon Rapids is hopping! Hanson Blvd., currently carrying about 14,000 cars daily across the railroad tracks, will have some closures in 2019 during construction of a new overpass. The temporary pain will be worth it!

Snippets of other city updates:

New Hope—City hall complex is under construction; planning a July 1 move in.

New Brighton—Green light coming soon for the new water plant to go online. It’s a $25 million project paid for by the army and Pentagon.

Mounds View—Happy anniversary, Nyle, both at Mounds View and with your bride.

Brooklyn Park—Four of seven council seats are on the ballot. City is waiting to see if they got a grant for additional firefighters.

Blaine—The Highway 65 study has started. The city and the county each put in $100,000 to get it launched. That helped move it up the list of priorities for MnDOT, Mayor Ryan says. A ribbon cutting was held on the remodeled 105^th Ave.

Andover—There’s an addition happening at the high school. The Facebook video of an eagle landing on the fire engine equipment on 9-11 has received 10 million views. Will Hollywood call?

Dayton—The Brockton project has a new name, Dayton Parkway Interchange. It looks like a 2020 start on the road project; diverging diamond design preferred.

Champlin—The massive Highway 169 project opened this week! The Champlin Theater had a grand reopening after a $5.2 million renovation that included a solar array. People love it.

Circle Pines—The county library is under construction. This fall, a water cleanup project begins on Golden Lake. It’s likely to become a model, using sand and iron filings to filter water. Mayor Bartholomay says 60% of lakes in MN are impaired.

Community Partner Tiffany, of Abrams & Schmidt, Attorneys at Law, reported the MN Supreme Court would review the Richfield employment case. The MN Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the city.

Chamber affiliate John Connelly, Twin Cities North, shared our partnership on candidate forums is going well. Plus, the chamber is hosting additional forums with candidates for MN Legislature and constitutional offices.

Other quick updates:

Cities have a worksheet for the 2019 legislative session. Please complete and return to Ewald staff.

The 2019 dues were approved at the same rate as last year. A 2019 budget was approved with a nearly 5% reduction from an earlier draft. Thanks, Operating Committee, for your work on these.

Join us next week at legislative candidate forums. Anoka City Hall, Tuesday, Sept. 25, 6:30 p.m., and Circle Pines City Hall, Wednesday, Sept. 26, 6:30 p.m. Remaining events are Coon Rapids, Oct. 3, and New Hope Oct. 16. Eight nights total! 

Next NMMA meetings:

Oct. 17, 11:30 a.m., Operating Committee, New Hope City Hall

Nov. 14, 5:30 p.m., Board of Directors, Brooklyn Park City Hall

Thank you, Jim Dickinson and the City of Andover, for hosting the June Operating Committee.

The group reviewed the Community Partner program and the tremendous support going back to 1994. Roughly 90 companies have invested dues, plus numerous more have provided in-kind services or products.

A special thank you goes to our current all-star lineup of Community Partners: Abrams & Schmidt, CenterPoint Energy (one of the longest serving), Comcast, Crest View Corporation, Financial One Credit Union, Fogerty Arena, Maple Grove Hospital, Mercy Hospital, Mille Lacs Corporate Venture (new!), North East Bank (one of the longest serving), P.S.D., Running Aces Harness Park, Innovative Office Solutions, Stepping Stone Emergency Housing, Tiller Corp., and Xcel Energy (one of the oldest serving).

Thanks also goes to our chambers of commerce, Anoka Area, MetroNorth, North Hennepin Area, Twin Cities North, and Twin West.

Our message is stronger, thanks to our collaboration. The North Metro is a great place to live, work, play, shop, raise a family, get an education….

Ewald staff and I are working on the candidate forums for the fall. Watch for updates.

Next meeting is Sept. 19, 5:30 p.m., Coon Rapids City Hall.

As always, your calls and emails are welcome. Thank you.

NMMA Board Meeting May 16, 2018

Maple Grove hosted the May North Metro Mayors Association Board meeting. City Administrator Heidi Nelson provided an update on city activities. Three key industries are poised for growth:

1. Health technology—Maple Grove is home to 5 of the top 25 largest Minnesota medical technology companies.
2. Healthcare—The 610 corridor continues to attract healthcare organizations.
3. Manufacturing—95 manufacturers already call Maple Grove home.

Providing the workforce for the growth is one of the biggest issues Maple Grove faces. The same is true throughout the region.

We said hello to Dayton Mayor Tim McNeil. Welcome to NMMA!

We said goodbye to former Ramsey Mayor Sarah Strommen. Best wishes on your new adventures remodeling your husband’s childhood home in Plymouth.

We said hello to Ramsey Mayor Pro-tem John LeTourneau. He brings his experience as a city council member to the role.

North American Joint Purchasing Program Committee Chair Kirk McDonald, New Hope, told the group we had a banner year.  Innovative Office Solutions 2017 dividends are up about 28%.

Since 2014, they are up 36%. Hirshfield’s struggled last year, but the new contract has an additional paint product that should help. The Board ratified approximately 100 dividend checks. Call me if you’d like to get in the program for office supplies or field marking paint.

Thank you, Maple Grove, for hosting the Board. Thank you, Ramsey, for hosting the Operating Committee earlier in the day.

 

Note a calendar change: The June Operating Committee is moved a week earlier to Wednesday, June 13, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Andover City Hall. The change is because of a city conference. We’ll continue the 2019 budget and dues discussion from May 16. We’ll get a report on the legislative session, too.

The next Board meeting is September 19, 5:30 p.m., Coon Rapids.

Watch your inbox for updates from Ewald on the final days of the legislative session.

Call if you have questions or suggestions. It’s always good to hear from you.

Jill Brown, Executive Director

JillCBrown@msn.com

Cell: 612-889-2611

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Former Ramsey Mayor Sarah Strommen received a certificate of appreciation May 16 for outstanding service to the north metro. Pictured with (front) Andover Mayor Julie Trude, New Hope Mayor Kathi Hemken, Ramsey Mayor Pro-tem John LeTourneau, (back) Dayton Mayor Tim McNeil, Circle Pines Mayor Dave Bartholomay, Brooklyn Center Mayor Tim Willson.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Members celebrated earning 2017 dividends in the North American Joint Purchasing Program: New Brighton City Manager Dean Lotter, New Hope City Manager Kirk McDonald, Community Partner Tiffany Schmidt, Mounds View City Administrator Nyle Zikmund, Circle Pines Mayor Dave Bartholomay, Ewald’s Owen Wirth, and Ramsey Mayor Pro-tem John LeTourneau.