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CITY COUNCIL INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM
May 27, 1988
RECYCLING CASH DRAWING
May 26: No Winner
Next week: $300 cash award
UPCOMING MEETINGS AND EVENTS.....
1. MEMORIAL DAY OBSERVED -- Monday, May 30. City offices closed.
2. NEXT COUNCIL MEETING -- Monday, June 6, 7:30 p.m. Regular City
ouncil meeting in City Council chambers. A Council/Staff dinner
meeting will precede the Council meeting at 5:30 p.m.
3. TOWN MEETING -- Monday, June 13. Town Meeting for Area 2 residents.
4. CALENDARS -- Meeting calendars for June and July are attached.
TM---47-
FOR
-4
FOR YOUR INFORMATION ....
1. MUNICIPAL LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION LAWSUIT - Thursday afternoon the
Board of of Directors of the MLC met to discuss the question of
suing the State with respect to a portion of the recently adopted
tax bill. Bob Renner informed the Board that it appears that one
portion of the new bill, that dealing with what is termed
"disparity aid" may be unconstitutional. The State Constitution
notes that taxes are to be applied on a uniform basis to the same
class of subjects. Under the disparity aid section of the law,
properties in a given jurisdiction receiving disparity aid could
have deferring tax burdens for the same class of subjects. Attached
is an example of how the disparity aid is designed to work. The
Board voted unanimously to initiate a lawsuit in order that this
matter be resolved. Before an actual lawsuit can or will commence,
the Board must further act on retaining attorneys to represent the
Commission, solicit other parties who may be interested in joining
with us in the lawsuit and finally, adopt the budget for the
effort. I expect to have more information on this topic to discuss
with the Council on June 6. Also attached is a Letter to the Editor
which I sent to local newspapers. (I-1)
3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD. PLYMOUTH. MINNESOTA 55447. TELEPHONE (612) 559-2800
CITY COUNCIL INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM
May 27, 1988
Page 2
2. DEVELOPMENT SIGNAGE -- On Friday, May 27, four development signs
will be placed at the following locations:
1) Southeast of Zachary Lane and the Soo Line Railroad -- Devries
Builders is requesting approval of a rezoning, preliminary plat,
and variance. The proposal is to rezone approximately 75 acres
from I-1 (Planned Industrial) and FRD (Future Restricted
Development) to R-2 (Low Density Multiple Residence). The
preliminary plat is for the creation of 78 single family lots,
and one outlot for city trail. The variance is to allow a front
yard setback of 30 feet versus the ordinance minimum of 35
feet. (88046) `
2) Southeast of Zachary Lane and Schmidt Lake Road -- Graham
Development Company is requesting approval of a rezoning and
preliminary plat. The proposal is to rezone approximatley 39
acres from FRD (Future Restricted Development) to R -IA (Low
Density Single Family Residential) and R-2 (Low Density Multiple
Residence). The preliminary plat is for the creation of 53
single family lots. (88042)
3) East of Balsam Lane and 48th Avenue North -- Edward Johnston is
requesting approval of a planned unit development concept plan,
preliminary plan/plat, conditional use permit, and variance.
The proposed plat is for the creation of 22 single family lots
and one outlot for City trail. The variance is for a size
waiver of the planned unit development. (88016)
4. Southeast of Kilmer Lane and 36th Avenue North -- Northwood Gas
Is requesting approval of a conditional use permit. The
proposed conditional use permit is for the installation of a
propane dispensing unit in order to sell propane gale. (88024)
These requests will be heard by the Planning Commission at their
June 8, 1988 meeting.
3. DWAINE & AUDREY JOHNSON - STORM DRAINAGE PROBLEM -- In 1987, the
City Council became involved in resolving a drainage issue between
Audrey and Dwaine Johnson and the Wooddale North Addition. This
addition lies immediately east of Vicksburg Lane and south of
Schmidt Lake Road. The Johnson property is immediately north of
Schmidt Lake Road.
An agreement was worked out where the developer of Wooddale North
Addition would purchase the Johnson property. The City had to
approve a lot division in order to accomplish this transaction. The
developer was also to grant the City the necessary drainage and
street easements and to reimburse the City for our City Attorney
cost. This matter has now been completely resolved and on May 11 we
received a check from Wooddale Ventures in the amount of $3,684.23
reimbursing us for our attorney fees.
CITY COUNCIL INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM
May 27, 1988
Page 3
4. SCHMIDT LAKE ROAD - ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT WORKSHEET -- As
directed by the Council, the Environmental Assessment Worksheet
process for Schmidt Lake Road between Zachary Lane and Saratoga Lane
has been initiated. A news release has been sent to the Plymouth
Post and the official publication will appear in the E.Q.B. Monitor
on May 30. In addition, copies of the EAW have been sent to all of
the review agencies. The 30 day review and comment period will end
of June 30, 1988. Copies of the EAW are available from the
Engineering Department.
5. PUBLIC NOTICE: LEAD IN DRINKING WATER - Federal Rule 40 SCR -141.349
recently enacted by the United States Environmental Protection
Agency, requires that municipalities who operate their own community
water system must inform drinking water customers, no later than
June 18, of potential lead contamination in their drinking water.
The federal government allows municipalities three options for
making this announcement:
1) through newspaper notices (3 consecutive months), the
first being no later than June 19, 1988;
2) once by mail notice with the water bill, or in a separate
mailing by June 19; or
3) once by hand delivery by June 19.
To save money, Helen LaFave has contacted the cities of New Hope,
Golden Valley, Crystal, Robbinsdale, Brooklyn Center and Brooklyn
Park. Thus far, it appears that Crystal, Golden Valley and New Hope
will be Jointly publishing this notice together with Plymouth,
before June 19 to come into compliance with the EPA requirements.
At the same time, we are conducting tests of city water throughout
the community to confirm our belief that there is no problem
whatsoever of lead contamination in Plymouth water. This
information will be shared with Plymouth residents through Plymouth
on Parade as soon as the results are available. A copy of Helen's
letter to other communities and the public notice is attached for
Council information. (I-5)
6. COMMUNITY EDUCATION ADVISORY COUNCIL REPLACEMENT - Jim Brandl has
indicated that the School District 284 Community Education Advisory
Council is seeking a replacement for Carol Beach. To achieve that
balance in representation, Jim's preference to fill the vacancy
would be a senior citizen who lives in School District 284. If the
Council has suggestions on possible candidates, please submit them
to Laurie Rauenhorst in order that we can determine their interest
and communicate our findings with Jim.
CITY COUNCIL INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM
May 27, 1988
Page 4
7. COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT REMINDER CARDS - As the Council requested, I
am attaching a pad of Community Improvement Reminder Cards for
Council use. Completed cards should be returned to me in order that
I can have the Communications Coordinator follow-up on each item.
8. "MEET YOUR CITY COUNCIL" HANDOUT -- The 1988 Communications Plan
calls for a "Meet Your City Council" handout. It will be available
at the City Center and in the Council Chambers. It is designed to
be read during Council meetings and answer basic questions about
meeting procedures. If you have suggestions for revisions in the
attached draft, call Helen LaFave by Wednesday, June 1.
9. IXODES DAMMINI - Attached is an article from the May 22, 1988 Star
Tribune Sunday Magazine entitled "Attack of the Ixodes Dammini."
The articles discusses Lyme disease, which can be contracted as a
result of a bite from a deer tick. The article bears Council
consideration as a result of the following quote by Russell C.
Johnson, Microbiologist: "In the past few years, if it weren't for
aids, Lyme disease would be the biggest public health problem in the
nation." The tick problem is spreading, including Minnesota. The
primary host for deer ticks is the whitetail deer. As the Council
is aware, the deer population in Plymouth is on the rise. The
article suggests that where deer populations have been diminished,
so too has Lyme disease. The Council may wish to consider this
information in future determinations of whether a deer harvest
should be authorized within our community. (I-9)
10. SAFETY AWARD -- The City's Safety Program has earned a Meritorious
Achievement Award from the Minnesota Safety Council. It recognizes
outstanding accident prevention performance in occupational safety.
The certificate is on display in the City Center.
This is the first time Plymouth has received this award. Only 88
out of 1,200 employers in Minnesota received the award for
meritorious achievement in 1987. To mark the occasion, Safety
Committee members and City supervisors attended a special safety
luncheon on May 24 at Scanticon.
11. MINUTES:
a. Plymouth Development Council, April 27, 1988 (I -Ila)
b. Park & Recreation Advisory Commission, May 12, 1988 (I-llb)
c. Plymouth Safety Committee, May 25, 1988. (I-llc)
12. CONFERENCE/SEMINAR REPORT -- Attached is a conference report from
Dale Hahn on the National Public Risk and Insurance Management
Association Annual Conference he attended from May 17-20 in New
Orleans. (I-12)
CITY COUNCIL INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM
May 27, 1988
Page 5
13. SUBURBIA - AN IMAGE AT ODDS -- The attached two articles appeared in
the May 30, 1988 issue of "Insight" magazine. (I-13)
14. COUNCIL FOLLOW-UPS:
a. Memorandums from Councilmember Zitur -- Responses to inquiries
from Bob Zitur are attached. I -145
b. dim Sentman Complaint on Condition of Adjacent Properties -- A
report from the City Weed Inspector and Street Supervisor on
actions taken to cleanup adjacent properties to Mr. Sentman.
(I -14b)
c. Resident Complaint - Harbor Lane -- Attached is a report from
ommunity Service Officer Dave hillips on his investigation of
a public nuisance complaint at 525 Harbor Lane. (I -14c)
15. "BZ" CORRESPONDENCE -- I have received the following correspondence
on City employees:
a. Letter from Nancy Marten -Oehler, Administration Intern, City of
Maple Grove, thanking Dick Pouliot for his recycling presen-
tation before the Maple Grove Lane Range Improvement Committee.
(I -15a)
b. Letter of appreciation from ferry Theis and Dundee employees, to
Plymouth Fire Department. (I -15b)
c. Letter from Adam Piskura, State Director of Fire Training, to
Lyle Robinson and Plymouth Fire Department, for assistance
during the 1988 Minnesota State Fire School. (I -15c)
16. CORRESPONDENCE:
a. Letter to Dennis Johnson and dim Konrad, DNR Conservation
Officers, from Frank Boyles, concerning a complaint received
from Dean Dalin, 10406 South Shore Drive, on carp spearing in
Bassett Creek. (I -16a)
b. Letter responding to Sohn Davis, 3630 Evergreen Lane, from Dick
Carlquist, concering the City's new alarm ordinance. A copy of
Mr. Davis' letter of May 17 is also included. (I -16b)
c. Letter to Hennepin County District Court fudge, Peter Lindberg,
from Frank Boyles, correcting information provided in the
Mayor's May 16 letter on the number of jury trials Plymouth is
involved in each year. Also attached are letters from the
cities of Robbinsdale and Brooklyn Park to the District Court
stating their objection to the relocation of all jury trials to
the downtown Hennepin County Government Center. (I -16c)
d. Letter of apology to Steve and Suzi Gerber, 2730 Norwood Lane,
from Dick Carlquist, concerning a notice they received from the
Public Safety Department on a barking dog complaint. (I -16d)
CITY COUNCIL INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM
May 27, 1988
Page 6
e. Letter from Mayor Schneider responding to the May 20 letter from
Gerald Their, Dundee Nursery. (I -16e)
f. Letter to Dennis Brengman, Brengman Construction, from Building
Official Joe Ryan, regarding a customer comment card received on
the City's plan review process for building permit
applications. (I -16f)
g. Letter from Cathy Guthrie, 3949 Orchid Lane, to Mayor Schneider,
regarding Creekside of Plymouth. (I -16g)
h. Letter from David Peterson, Hewitt Peterson, to Mayor Schneider,
on trail through Harrison Hills. (I -16h)
James G. Willis
City Manager
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HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLE
OF DISPARITY AID DISTRIBUTION FORMULA
City of Alpha levy 20 mills City of Alpha levy 20 = 14.8%
County of Beta levy 40 mills County of Beta levy 40 = 29.6%
School District 1 levy 65 mills School Dist. 2 levy 75 = 55.6%
Total levy
Total levy Alpha/Beta/l 125 mills Alpha/Beta/2 135
State buys down levy in District 2 in proportion to the levy.
City receives
14.8
x 200,000
= $ 29,600
County receives
29.6
x 200,000
= $ 59,200
School district receives
55.6
x 200,000
= $111,200
$200,000
After buydown District 2
City levy 20
- 1.48
= 18.52
mills
County levy 40
- 2.96
= 37.04
mills
School district levy 75
- 5.56
= 69.44
mills
10.00
125.00
mills
School District 1
City Tax
on $68,000 home
_ $108.80
$68,000 Home
School District_L_
TAX
School District 2
City Tax
on $68,000 home
_ $100.60
$68,000 Home
School District 2
20 mills City of Alpha = 108.80 18.52 mills City of Alpha = 100.60
40 mills County of Beta = 217.70 37.04 mills County of Beta = 201.30
—Ea mills Sch. Dist. 1 = 353.50 69.44 mills Sch. Dist. 2 = 378.10
125 680.00 125.00 680.00
i
Minnesota Constitution
Article X, Section 1
"Taxes shall be uniform upon the same class of subjects and shall be
levied and collected for public purposes..."
The constitutional argument would be that a person residing in a $68,000
home in the City of Alpha would pay a non-uniform tax for identical city
services, e.g., $100.60 vs. $108.80.
The same person would also pay a non-uniform county tax, e.g. $201.30 vs.
$217.70, for identical county services.
The same person would pay a uniform school tax, even though the amounts
are different for the same home; since the taxpayer is in a different
school district they are not receiving identical services and therefore
this distribution would be constitutional.
Editor:
It was nice that Governor Perpich met with the Suburban Press to emphasize
how he has been "helping" the suburbs.
What the Governor has done is picked the pockets of suburban taxpayers.
Governor Perpich recently signed a tax bill which will ensure property tax
increases statewide of more than $169,000,000. Of this amount, more than
95%, or $161,000,000, comes from the metropolitan area. The suburbs of
Hennepin County will see their taxes go up almost $61,000,000 as a result of
the Governor's tax bill. Some "help!"
Property taxpayers outside the metropolitan area will see their taxes go up
just over $8,000,000. According to your article, the Governor says "you
have to look where the need is."
Suburban taxpayers know where the need is for property tax relief: It's in
the suburbs. The average property tax bill in the metropolitan area for
1988 is just over $700. In most suburbs it's substantially more than that.
In outstate Minnesota, however, the average tax bill is $342, less than half
that of the average metro area.
Governor Perpich apparently thinks that suburban taxpayers have more money
to spend; therefore, more money to pay taxes with. Well, his tax policies
ensure that suburban taxpayers do pay a greater percentage of their income
for property taxes. In the metropolitan area, homeowners are paying, on the
average, 2.34% of their income in property taxes. In outstate Minnesota,
"where the need is," they are paying only 1.74% of their income. Again,
half as much of the average as metropolitan taxpayers.
Governor Perpich and the DFL majority have been playing a shell game with
the suburban taxpayers. Under the new tax bill, property taxes in many
outstate communities will actually go down, while those in the metropolitan
area suburbs will go up next year, further exacerbating the equity disparity
which currently exists.
3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD.. PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447. TELEPHONE (512) 559-2800
Editor
May 26, 1988
Page 2
Suburban taxpayers should hold their legislators' feet to the fire when it
comes to explaining how and why they could support substantially higher
property taxes for the suburban communities in light of the above facts.
Sincerely,
Ames G. Willis
Ci y Manager
� :kec
61
C11'y
May 23, 1988 PLYMOUTH+
Jeanine Dunn
City of New Hope
4401 Xylon Avenue North
New Hope, MN 55428
SUBJECT: JOINT PUBLICATION OF EPA NOTICE
Dear Jeanine:
Crystal City Engineer Bill Monk, mailed me the enclosed notice which Crystal
Is prepared to publish in order to meet EPA requirements. Crystal is
interested in pursuing a joint publication of the notice with New Hope and
Plymouth.
The notice, as prepared by Crystal is the required EPA notice with 2
additions -- the first and the last paragraphs. I suggest revising the
first paragraph as follows to make it applicable to all of our cities:
All owner/operators of community water systems are required by Federal
Rule 40 CSR 141.34, recently enacted by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, to inform their waters customers of the potential
for lead contamination in their drinking water. The cities of Crystal,
New Hope and Plymouth are complying with this requirement through this
joint notice. Although the water supply in Crystal, New Hope and
Plymouth do not contain high lead levels, all community water systems
must provide the following notice:
I suggest changing the last paragraph to read:
If you have questions concerning this notice, please feel free to
contact the water superintendent in your city:
Crystal Water Superintendent, Len Zuehl - 537-8421
New Hope Water Superintendent, -
Plymouth Water Supervisor, Bob Fasching - 559-2800
While the Water Departments will not be able to perform plumbing
Inspections or sample testing, assistance in securing such services
will be provided. The U.S. EPA also has a toll-free hotline number
dedicated to the subject of lead in drinking water. The telephone
number is 1-800-426-4791. The U.S. EPA has also prepared a brochure on
the subject.
3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD. PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447. TELEPHONE (612) 559-2800
-.7-
Jeanine Dunn
• May 23, 1988
Page 2
Please let me know if the above suggestions are acceptable.
After all three cities have agreed to the wording of the notice, I will be
happy to make arrangements to have it printed in the Post Newspapers for
three consecutive months.
Sincerely,
Helen LaFave
Communications Coordinator
HL:kec
cc: Bill Monk, Crystal City Engineer
James G. Willis, Plymouth City Manager
Fred Moore, Plymouth Public Works Director
1
Public Notice: Lead in Drinking Water
As the owner/operator of a community water system in Minnesota,
the City of Crystal is required by Federal Rule 40 CFR 141.34,
recently enacted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to
inform its water customers of the potential for lead
contamination in their drinking water. Although Crystal's water
supply does not contain high lead levels, all community water
systems must provide the following notice:
The purpose of this notice is threefold: first, to address the
potential health effects of lead; second, to indicate possible
sources of lead in your drinking water; and third, what you can
do to minimize your exposure to lead in your drinking water if a
lead source is present.
Lead has been commonly used in the manufacture of products in our
society, including gasoline, paints, batteries and glass windows,
to name a few. Lead is known to cause health problems if
consumed or inhaled. Your local water system, the Minnesota
Department of Health, and United States Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) are concerned about lead in drinking water. To
date, no beneficial effects of lead in humans have been found.
Because lead accumulates in the body, the health effects depend
upon the level and duration of exposure to the lead sources. Too
much lead in the human body can cause damage to the brain,
nervous system, blood -forming processes, gastro-intestinal
systems and kidneys. The greatest risk, even with short-term
exposure, is to young children and pregnant women. Lead in our
environment is a public health issue about which we should all be
concerned.
There are two pathways for lead to enter the body. They are
ingestion and inhalation. One possible source of ingestion of
lead is in your drinking water.
In 1974, the United States Congress passed the Safe Drinking
Water Act (SDWA). The SDWA requires the U.S. EPA to protect the
public health by setting drinking water standards for public
water supplies. The EPA and others have determined that lead is
a health concern at certain levels of exposure. The current
standard set by the U.S. EPA is a maximum of 50 parts per
billion. This standard will likely be lowered significantly,
based on new health information of high risk groups.
Part of the purpose of this notice is to inform you of the
potential adverse health effects of lead. THIS IS BEING DONE
EVEN THOUGH YOUR WATER MAY NOT BE IN VIOLATION OF THE CURRENT
STANDARD.
Lead rarely occurs naturally in drinking water. The principal
source of lead when present in drinking water is from lead-based
solders or lead pipe in the plumbing of homes or residences.
F1
F
From the late 1800's to about 1930, lead was a common material
used for water service pipe and interior plumbing. Since this
time, other materials such as copper and galvanized steel pipe
have been used more extensively in residential plumbing systems.
Lead-based solders were commonly used to join copper pipe. SINCE
JUNE 1, 1985, THE STATE OF MINNESOTA HAS BANNED THE USE OF LEAD
PIPE AND SOLDERS OR FLUXES CONTAINING MORE THAN 0.2 PERCENT LEAD
TO BE USED IN ANY PLUMBING INSTALLATION WHICH CONVEYS A POTABLE
WATER SUPPLY.
Lead from pipes and lead-based solders enters the drinking water
through corrosion. Water is an excellent solvent; therefore,
when water stands in the pipes of a residence for several hours
without use, there is a greater potential for lead to enter the
drinking water, if a lead source is present.
Other factors that may increase the lead levels in household
drinking water include:
Age and condition of household plumbing or water service
pipes.
Naturally soft water can be more corrosive; and, therefore,
creates the potential for higher lead levels. In general,
water in Minnesota tends to be hard or scale forming.
Some home water treatment systems, including home water
softeners, may make the water more corrosive.
Hot water dissolves lead from pipe and lead-based solders more
quickly than cold water.
IN SUMMARY, LEAD LEVELS IN YOUR DRINKING WATER ARE LIKELY TO BE
HIGHEST IF:
1. Your home has copper pipes with lead solder joints, or
2. Your home or water system has lead pipes and:
a. if water sits in pipes for several hours, or
b. if you have soft or corrosive water, or
C. if the home is less than five years old.
NOTE: Water service pipes and interior potable water
distribution piping in all buildings constructed after
June 1, 1985, should not contain lead pipes nor should
lead-based solders have been used in joining copper pipe.
If you are unsure if lead is present in your household plumbing
or water service lines, you should either contact your local
water utility or a qualified plumber to make this determination.
k_1
It is not possible to see dissolved lead in drinking water. The
only way to measure the lead level present in your drinking water
is to have the water analyzed by a qualified laboratory. The
laboratory will provide you with the sample bottle and
instructions on how to take a water sample.
If you have your water tested and high levels of lead are found,
or if you believe that you have lead-based materials in your home
or water service, there are WAYS TO MINIMIZE THE EXPOSURE TO
THESE LEAD MATERIALS.
o Do not consume or cook with water that has been in contact
with your home's plumbing for more than a few hours.
Before using this water for consumption or cooking, "flush"
the cold water faucet by allowing the water to run until you
feel a temperature change. This temperature change should
occur in 2-3 minutes. If you suspect or know that your home
has a lead service pipe or connection, allow the water to run
an additional 15-30 seconds to be sure the service line is
"flushed" also.
o Do not cook or drink water from a hot water tap. As
previously mentioned, lead dissolves faster in hot water than
cold water. If hot water is needed, use the cold water tap
and heat water on the stove.
o Use only the cold water faucet to prepare baby formula.
Always "flush" the cold water faucet as described above before
preparing any formula.
o Use only lead-free materials for any plumbing repair work to
be done. THIS IS STATE LAW.
In 1984, the Minnesota Department of Health completed a survey of
lead in drinking water in buildings less than three years old.
The results of this survey indicated that the source of lead
found in the drinking water was from the building plumbing
systems. The survey also demonstrated that "flushing" the water
tap reduced the lead to levels well below the drinking water
standard.
The findings of this survey prompted legislation to be enacted in
1985 which prohibits the use of lead pipes, lead-based solders or
fluxes to be used in any plumbing installation which conveys a
potable water supply.
If you have questions concerning information contained in this
notice, please feel free to contact Len Zuehl, Crystal's Water
Superintendent at 537-8421. While the Water Department will not
be able to perform plumbing inspections or sample testing,
assistance in securing such services will be provided. The U.S.
EPA also has a toll-free hotline number dedicated to the subject
of lead in drinking water. The telephone number is 1-800-426-
4791. The U.S. EPA has also prepared a brochure on the subject.
-,01 *P7
NDAY
MAGAZ INE
j � ' STAR TFi MAY 2?, AM
Attack,_
.,g
........ ........
+;A-4
-
./A(({
the' .
t -4
�DA NI----`
a
jyf�i S _k
t�
tick bite wrecked
one woman's
health and life
for more than
six years
before doctors
diagnosed
Lyme disease
J
Symptoms of Lyme disease
are varied, irregular and unpredictable
These are some of the afflictions of
just one woman, Linda Hanner,
over a 6'/2 -year period:
-7--, c,
'I WAS LIKE A
CAGED ANIMAL'
Disorientation, fatigue,
dizziness, confusion,
severe headaches,
depression, general
weakness, fainting
Numbness
/ on the left
side of the face
Inflammation
j in the lungs,
chest pains,
shortness of breath
Photos by 1oar. 5seen2y
For 61/2 years Linda Hanner suffered
through a chamber of medical horrors.
Finally the culprit was discovered:
a deer tick. The ailment: Lyme disease.
By George Monaghan
E
ven though it was seven
years ago, Linda Hanner
remembers the day clearly.
It was a good day. She had
worked hard all day, and
then toward evening she had mowed
the lawn out back of her home near
Maple Plain and cooked dinner for
her husband and four children. From
her kitchen she could hear the goat
in the barn, see the ducks in the
yard. She could look out over the
rolling countryside and now and
then watch deer grazing by the back
fence.
She felt so good she got on her
bike that evening and rode to Rock-
ford five miles away and back again.
It surprised her. She couldn't stop
herself. She was always moving, al-
ways busy.
But that wasn't what. made the
day different. What made the day
different was what happened later on
when she awoke one morning.
She gni: up feeling a way she had
never felt before, disoriented, fa-
tigued, a little dizzy and confused.
She could hardly make it through
the day. She didn't feel any better
the next day, either, and a few days
later she noticed that the left side of
her face was numb, as if she had a
shot of Novocain.
It set off her good day by sheer
contrast.
That was just the beginning.
It was as if her body jammed into
reverse, spinning her life out of con-
trol and dragging her and her family
through a chamber of medical misery
in which her torments were blamed
variously on a viral infection, a brain
tumor, multiple sclerosis, monomt
cleosis, arthritis, lupus, inflamma-
tion of the nerves, meningitis, seven•
depression, Huntington's chorea, a
Parkinsonian variety of disease, Ep-
stein-Barr virus, heart trouble, sexu-
al frustration and, when nothing else
seemed to fit, mental problems.
She was to see 29 physicians, in-
cluding several psychiatrists, six
neurologists, three internists, a gyne-
cologist and two urologists. At vary-
ing times she was taking 20 different
Repetitive and uncontrollable
jerking of muscles,
impaired function
of the right leg
;anger monfli-is of the tick
;e low-risk months for tick rites are in midwinter, when !est year's adu!ts are
)rmant. Moderate risk begins in the spring, when last year's adults become
:five, and nymphs start to emerge. The highest risk is in midsummer, when the
imphs become active. Moderate risk i
>ntinues throuah the autumn
nen adults remain active. /a._�
Moderate
risk
Moderate risk
Low risk µ'
AN. FEB. MAR. I APRIL I MAY I JUNE JULY I AUG. i SEPT. I OCT. I NOV.1 DEC
ce/Pfizer Central Research
ie disease spun Hanner's body out of control.
licines including sleeping pills
depressants, drugs to keep her
rcles from repetitive and uncon-
table jerking, and prednisone to
I down inflammation. She had to
a wheelchair when getting
ind became difficult for her.
'wice she tried to commit suicide.
:e she was locked in a hospital
ling ruom with nothing but a bed
four white walls.
ler problems came and went in
•redictable peaks and valleys for
next seven years, and there were
es she figured she really was cra-
and that she'd be spending the
. of her life in a mental institution
if not that, in a wheelchair.
Her husband of 20
years, Kim, a cabi-
netmaker and cus-
tom furniture fin- ,
fisher, has a hard
time talking about
those days. He
would like to forget
the whole thing.
Linda Hanner can't.
She's a compact lit-
tle bird of a woman,
40 now, with soft,
wavy, blond hair
and sharply de-
fined features and
quick blue eyes as
clear as ice, and
when she tells of her .
medical odyssey sh
hardly knows where to
start.
In the beginning
hardly anyone else
knew either. But peo-
ple were learning.
Just about the time
Linda Hanner was at
the end of Iter tether, they were
finding out. What they were finding
was that Linda Hanner was not
alone. There were, perhaps, hun-
dreds of other Linda Hanners
around Minnesota in one degree or
another and many multiples of her
around the rest of the country. And
in all likelihood what they were find-
ing was nothing new. It may have
been there for years, possibly being
misdiagnosed in one way or another.
If Linda Hanner. had -known she
could have" looked -out -.her _ itc en,
window and have seen part of the
'.problem right .there the deeei " az
ing in the field of Lake Rebecca Park
Reserve behind her house. Deer car-
ry —tacks,
Linda's story
begins with
them.
The Lich that t •nnsmct, file Borrelia -
burgdorferi , rir a hrty t hcunnns i$ _
the Lodes darnmtnr (deer ti r,� It is
smather than the cununnn dug trek (a
comparison, act tat size, is shu,tn in the
iilu.strntion) and .feeds -on mane. -birds,
raccoons, dogs, deer, horses and hu
mans. Adulfs attach the niseltes toi-large
)costs—usually white-tailed deer—
cohere they mate. The males then die, tet*
but females continue to feed to obtain
protein for egg development. The tich's life cycle lasts two
years, and at all stages it feeds awl humans and other
animals.
When art Ixodes dammini has sucked blood it swells to
several times its normal size. The nymph is so tiny that it is
almost invisible. The bitf_ia-aot paiafut btil.ifthetick is._
infected with spirochetes et- mai transmit them to I,lte.body.
A ttcli bile does not alraays result in Lyme disease.
0 ne
day,
probably
right around
that day late in July
1981, as she worked in her garden
behind the house and was telling
herself how great it was to be so full
of life, a tiny tick got on her akin and
started crawling for a warm spot on
her body.
For her, that was nothing unusual.
She had been picking ticks off her-
self and her kids for years. They
lived, after all, out in the country
among wildlife some 20 miles west of
the Twin Cities, on a few acres that
used to be a farm. Now there are a
few houses along the road, and a big
part of the land has be -y+
come a wildlife park, an
Ile
island of nature in a spreading urban
sea.
Most likely she was in her garden.
Whenever she had a chance, and she
wasn't working in her business—
contract housecleaning around the
area—she was working in her gar-
den, days at a time if she had the
chance. A little tick must have
crawled up her leg. Only—this wasn't
dust a common wood tick that swells
grotesquely, drops ..Off_�ind le$vea a
Lyme continued on page 8
Illustrations and graphics by Eddie Thomas
-Yr a a �� aydni rur me nanners. rrom lett, in front: Jason, Linda and Jenniter. Rear: Jonathan, Jeremiah and Kim.
Lyme
continued frurn page 7
little welt and pesters all varieties at
mammalian life.
'Phis was what has become known
innocently as a deer tick, a tiny cousin
of the wood tick, that in the eves of
many scientists these days has grown
into a monster.
Even its name has the ring of the
devil in it: Ixodes dammini.
-The-damage it can do was reported
first in 1975 -..in -LY -pie. Cpnn., in a
medical case that was as mysterious
then to the town of Lyme as Linda
Hanner's was to her and her doctors
six years later.
cause there were
no deer there were
no cases.... But there
we instituted laws tO
control blunting, and the
population started
coming back, and now,
we are braving a full
resurgence, and Lylne
disease is on the rise."
Russell C. Johnson
Microbiologist
A resident, Pally Murray, liked ter
watch white-tailed deer from her win-
dow too. She started worrying when
she and family members began suffer-
ing from unexplained illnesses more
than a dozen years ago. She was, in
fact, hospitalized for some of the same
symptoms I,inda Hanner developed,
and her sons had paralyzed face mus-
cles and swollen joints. Doctors said it
was juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.
She and her family weren't alone -
Others around Lyme had similar prob-
lems. They began keeping count. They
began calling state health officials with
their findings, fevers and skin rashes
and swollen joints and nervous disor-
ders. Doctors didn't take them serious-
ly at first. Dermatologists weren't in-
terested in the swollen joints; infec-
tious -disease doctors didn't much care
alxrut arthritic symptoms.
Factwas, the town had a cluster of
50 cases with the symptoms of juvenile
rheum aI,oid art hrui_<. •That' more
than l0.000 times higher than normal,
and that aroused the interest of .Allen
C. Steere, a rheumatologist at the Pale
University School of Mudic•ine. He ex-
amined the notebooks kept by the
Lyme mothers and interviewed victims
who recalled that they had angry red
rashes shaped a little like doughnuts
that spread.vut from the center.
It was, he found, similar to a rash
described first in Europe in 1909 andu
called cmthenza chronicm migrans,
which means a chronic red rash that
migrates. It comes from tick bites.
Steere also examined a tick itself-, a
victim saved one that wasn't. much
bigger than a pinhead. a dark brown
and hard -bodied little speck.
Steere and David Syndman, then
acting state epidemiologist in Con-
necticut, wrote the first article telling
of the symptoms of Lyme in the medi-
cal literature in the United States.
Acouple of years later. Synd-
man called a former class-
mate at Tufts University,
Christian Schrock, now epi-
derniolugist and director of infectious
diseases at North Memorial Medical
Center to Robbinsdale
You c)ught to tit ,looking for Lyme
disease out There because you've got. a
tot of ticks," Schrock recalls him say-
ing. 'Then, Schrock said, "I went home
and looked up this one case 1 had here,
H case with a lot of problems after a
tick bite, and he had the same rash
and chorea and Bell's paralysis and
arthritis. He filled the definition."
That was in 1977. Schrock pub-
lished an article on the case. the first
diagnosed in Minnesota.
About the same time, a leading au-
thority on ticks, Andrew Spielman of
the Harvard School of Public Health.
identified the guilty tick as a deer tick,
which had been named 1. dammini,
after a retired colleague of Spielman's,
Gustave Dammin. Dammin later
caught the disease himself.
Work on the disease was just begin-
ning.
What did the tick do that caused all
the trouble?
In 1981 an entomologist and inter-
nationally known authority on tick
diseases at the Rocky Mountain Lab-
oratories in Hamilton, Mont., Willy
Burgdorfer, found the answer. A fatal
case of Rocky Mountain spotted fever
had been transmitted by a dog tick off
the coast of eastern Long Island in
New York. It was fall, and the tick
that causes the fever wasn't found, so
health authorities collected the little
deer ticks instead and sent them to
Burgdorfer.
In most cases ent,omologist_s exam -
Lyme continued on page 10
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Lyme
v.,ntinturi frurn page 9
ine a tick by tearing off a leg, then
squeezing out some of its internal fluid
on a slide and putting it under the
microscope to look for bacteria. Burg-
dorfer didn't find the bacteria that
cause spotted fever, but by chance he
saw a parasite that interested him. He
dissected the tick to examine its diges-
tive tract.
What he found was a surprise. The_
tick:s_gut was Leeming witb.long-corkz
scleur:-SpiroC,�iete -bacteria. Burgdorfer
put 2 and 2 together. SpirogheteB_
didn't cause Rocky.__ Mountain. fever.
T_ iLki carried Lyme disease.
-What he had _was a strong Lyme
le
t a coiled unicellular creature so
small it passes through laboratory fil-
ters designed to trap bacteria.
To pin down the suspicion, serum
samples from Lyme patients were sent
to Burgdorfer, and he tested them for
the presence of antibodies to the spiro-
chetes. The results were positive. In-
fected ticks were allowed to feast on
the shaved skin of albino rabbits. The
same kind of rash appeared. Live spi-
rochetes were found.
bout a year after Linda Han-
ner was bitten in Maple
Plain, spirochetes had been
isolated from the blood and
cerebrospinal fluid of Lyme victims.
In Minneapolis, Russell C. Johnson,
a microbiologist who has been study-
ing spirochetes for 22 years at. the
University of Minnesota School of
Medicine, studied the spirochete DNA.
That pinned the tick down even more.
He found it was a new species of an old
genus of spirochetes that includes
syphilis. It is called borrelia, and in
honor of Willy Burgdorfer, it was
named Borrelia burgdorferi.
Johnson's laboratory also isolated
I the spirochete in laboratory animals—
hamsters, in this instance. That en-
abled researchers to begin testing anti-
biotics that could be used to fight it.
i What makes burgdorferi so difficult,
I Jofinaon._sa s rs that_.:its .. my_and
t Y �_.___
difficult.to. isolate. Qnce it_gets-.into
' the bloodstream, it moves ..out in --all
directions. Its proliferation goes—on—for
a years. Johnson `has found it -in _the
i eyes, the brain, the liver, cerebral spi-
nal fluid and testes of various main -
mals. Its effects come -and go if never
' treated: It never leaves.
Unfortunately,' he says, science isn't
Heaviest areas of Lyme disease
Lyme disease is concentrated most heavily in an area
along the East Coast, in Minnesota and Wisconsin, in
part of Texas and in Oregon and California.
Source/National Parks magazine
"T called the
I doctor back
and told him I was
really scared, and
lie said he was
sorry, 'You've got
too many
symptoms, and
you ought to call a
psychiatrist.'He
didn't want to talk
about it anymore."
Linda Hanner
too sure about what it does to a body
once it gets in. Is it poisonous or
something? Science isn't sure. What it
knows for sure is the body's reaction.
Burgdorferi simply drives its defenses
wild" in many ppeople: The. reaction it-
self helps produce symptoms.
How the deer tick gets it isn't that
clear either. It may get it from white-
footed mice, for instance, but science
isn't sure whether the mouse gives it to
the tick or vice versa. Its larvae bite
birds and rodents and people, and al-
though the adult phase doesn't feed on
rodents, it does feed on people, dogs,
cats, raccoons, horses, cattle and, most
likely, any other medium or large
mammal that happens to pass close by.
Deer, although they don't develop
the same ill effects as people, are one
of the happiest feeding grounds for the
dammini tick. They're easy pickings.
The tick simply grabs onto its head as
the deer grazes through the brush.
-7._.. `A
,lohnsun has seen deer heads with
many as 250 ticks in various stages
engorgement.
,(ohnson thinks the deer is one
the retisntry t.le `tick _ha`s spread
beginnin_on the Last Coast
sp�.
reading west so that by now
tteaviestirifesiaiiaiis with $0 perces
3f -a nZio-iN k -nn wn_cases, occur
yei stale. -Massachusetts, Rhin
Island, Connecticut, New York at
New Jersey in the East and Minneso
and Wisconsin in the Midwest.761-,
son thinks it is just a matter of tir
until it spreads over the whole count!
(lite..af his mast quoted statemei
in the _mast few years is that if
`weren t for AADS (acqui�r�jrttmu
deficiency -iyndromo- , ,Lynle., d. ise
wntild tie ifie biggest._ publiv--heal
�problcm in`th'e nation. He stands
that. "
- ieason for the spread of Lyme
the�Iii ► n . _ eL suiteu t
War tL_.
"The tick is spreading," Johne
says, "we know that. It wasn't alwo
that way. Back in the 1800s, when t
environment for deer was ideal alr,
the East Coast, people demolished t
entire population. Same thing ha
pened in southern Wisconsin. Th
brought out people from Chicago, a
they'd shoot sometimes 10,000 in
day. They were doing it W prom,
development, and because there wr
no deer there were no cases. The siw
thing happened in Europe, only tht
the population of deer was killed
for meat in World War II.
':Blit_ hen -we -Instituted lawsAo.c,
t,rol hunting, -and the population sta
ed coming back _ and_now we. are_.h�
ing a full resurgence, and Lyme dise:
is.on.the-rise.' - _ -
Thex"m-piaees-in.Western Wiser
sin, he says, where 80 percent of. t
white-foote is mice and 6@ {�ery�t
the deerave the spirochete. C
woman frorri'North_Ga _ss has a ho
in that part of the state, and recen
she brought Johnson three plastic b.
filled with ticks, 10 from her, 653 fr-
her puppy and 401 from her ad
dogs.
And these were adult ticks,"
says. "The nymphs are too small
most people to see."
n Minnesota there have been ft
er that 100 cases a year sit
Christian Schrock at North
morial Medical Center diagno
the first case in the state and repor
it in 1977.
It wasn't until last fall, when Lit
Lyme continued on page 12
Lyme
,.,ntiuurd ii -n page 10
Hnnner saw- Schrock on television,
talking about the Epstein-Barr syn-
drome—a viral disease similar to
mononucleosis– that the medical corn-
munity began to zero in on her partic-
ular ailments that began that day in
,July as she worked in her yard.
Somewhere in the yard, a female
dananini was lurking, its back legs
gripping a leaf of grass or a weed or a
twig, its front ones reaching out like a
pro wrestler waiting for a victim to
come close.
Linda couldn't have seen it, even
once it was on her. Unless it was an
adult, it was too small. Even an adult
would probably look more to her like a
speck of dirt. The nymph, the midlife
stage of a tick, is smaller than that.,
and the infant, or larva, isn't much
bigger than a grain of finely ground
pepper.
When Linda came by, it could tell
because it senses carbon dioxide in
quantities so small they've never been
measured. Linda was exhaling it. That,
combined with a little butyric acid
from sweat, was a sure sign that dinner
was on the way.
The sequence probably went some-
thing like this:
Linda passes by.
The tick grabs her with outreached,
barb -covered legs.
It begins creeping on her skin.
Then, once aboard, it begins its
search, feeling for tiny warm spots,
smelling for blood.
It searches about a half-hour, then
finds the tender spot where the skin is
thin, an earlobe, say. It feels the heat
from nearby blood, senses the carbon
dioxide given off by warm blood.
Dinner is ready.
The operation begins.
It's done by a master, with chemis-
try and sharp instruments. This is how
Ulrike Munderlow, an entomologist at
the University of Minnesota and a
specialist in ticks and tick habits, de-
scribes what happens next:
The tick anchors itself solidly to the
surface with two segmented jaws
equipped with claws and adhesive
pads. When it takes hold, it cuts into
the skin with a serrated spear between
its jaws that under a microscope looks
a little like a chain saw.
Once it saws its way in and finds the
capillary, some tricky tick chemistry
goes to work. It begins secreting a
cement to hold it in so tight a victim
has to pull the tick off to get rid of it,
and even then the spear remains in the
capillary and often has to be cut out
surgically.
Then the real work begins, meal-
time. For the ,youngest and smallest
HOW TO AVOID TICK BITE_ S
a
on a regular basis, do not wear
you are in tick
work clothing home. This will
reduce the chances of bringing
When
habitat (grassy, brushy or
woodland areas), several
ticks home and exposing family
precautions can minimize ,your
members.
chances of being bitten by a tick.
■ Tuck your pant legs into your
WHAT TO DO IF
socks. 'hack your shirt into your
BITTEN BY A TICK
pants. Deer ticks grab onto feet and
emove the tick as soon as
legs and then climb up. This
precaution will keep them on the
possible. The easiest method
"is
outside of your clothes, where they
to grasp the tick with fine
tweezers, as near to the skin as; you
can be spotted and picked off.
■ Wear light-colored clothing.
can, and g Pull it out. You may
Dark ticks can be spotted most
want to save h
the tick in a small jar
identififi
for tater. identification. Check,to
easily against a light background.
■ Inspect your clothes for ticks
see whether the mouth parts broke
often while in tick habitat. leave a
off in the wound. If they did, seek
medical attention to get them
back.
companion pellect s; applied
■ Wear repellents, applied
removed. If you get any symptoms
according to label instructions.
of Lyme disease in the following
week to several months, -see a
Application to shoessocks; cuffs
and pant legs is'mosi effective
physician immediately. Be sure to
against deer ticks.
tell the doctor that you were bitten
■ Inspect your head and body
by.a tick. A blood test can help
determine if you have been exposed
thoroughly when you get in from
to Lyme disease.
the field., Have a companion check
your back;' or use a mirror. I I I
■ When working in tick habitat
From a National Park Service
brochure.
"My whole body would jerk
uncontrollably. My foot would
pull in sharply. ... We were getting
used to those things."
Linda Hanner
deer tick, the larva, that takes only a
day. For the adolescent, the nymph, it
takes a couple of days, and for the
adult it takes a full work week, five
days.
When it's full, the tick is -about three
times bigger than when it began. But
even then it has more work to do. It
has to get back out again. To do that,
it goes back to chemistry. It secretes a
substance to dissolve the cement an-
choring it in place.
That takes a half-hour more. Then
the tick removes itself and drops to the
ground. If it's an adult, it lays its eggs,
and the whole tick life cycle, one that
lasts two years, begins again.
Linda Hanner was free of the tick.
Then the spirochete went to work. She
began feeling its effects several days
later when she awoke feeling uncharac-
teristically down. She couldn't get her-
self in focus for the rest of the day.
By the end of a couple of weeks, the
spirochetes were multiplying, moving
through the blood to other parts of the
body, heading for the joints, the cen
tral nervous system.
hat bothered Linda, in
the beginning, was riot be-
ing able to pull out of it
after being so fit. Only
once in her life, in 1978 when she was
under a lot of stress, had she ever
experienced a prolonged depression
that required medical care.
This was different. She wasn't under
a lot of stress: her life was going along
smoothly. She was 33 years old, con-
stantly active with friends and in
church, always busy working, and her
health was good.
As the week progressed, and the
spirochetes invaded the nervous sys-
tem, and the body's immunological
system reacted against theta, the left
side of her face went Novocain -numb.
The urge to urinate wouldn't leave.
In four days she saw her doctor. He
thought it. was a virus, and four days
later, when the symptoms intensified,
she called back. lie told her tier;- u%t
svveril pnssihilit.ies far such a persi".
tent problem_ multiple sclerosis.
nerve inflammation. tumors, a brai::
tumor and, finally, a neurosis that, sh,
figured. he mentioned because of th.
depression she had had three year
before..
He advised blood tests. A week ane'
a half later the results were in: Every
thing they checked for in blood tests in
those days was normal. One of the
things they weren't checking for was
Lyme disease. They didn't know ho%N
to look for it, anyway, but with Linda
they had no reason to. T.her"asic..
characteristic red doughnut rash. Like
tran4t cases cif? yiiS C isease, there nev-
er had been. In fact, she couldn't recal'
a tick bite.
After the tests showed nothing, her
health went from bad to worse, follow-
ing some of the symptoms of the sec-
ond phase of Lyme disease.
"I was really getting scared now,"
she said. "I started getting weak spells.
I'd collapse right in the middle of the -
floor, and so i called the doctor back
and told him I was really scared, and
he said he was sorry, 'You've got too
many symptoms, and you ought to call
a psychiatrist.' He didn't want to talk
about it anymore.
"But the pain was getting worse. I
stayed home from work another week,
and I had no idea what to do or who tc
call. We tried to call a neurologist, but
they told us you have to be referred u,
a neurologist., and so finally my hus-
band called our doctor back, and this
time he put me in the hospital for a
few days."
Multiple sclerosis was suspected bY
then, and Hanner said that actualh
relieved her. "I'd read up on multipfe
sclerosis, and I knew it went into re-
mission after a while, and so I told
myself, 'Fine, go home and wait for it
to go into remission.' It didn't alarm
me at all, but it did my friends.
"Everyone said I should rest with
MS, and so I always had friends and
relatives coming over to do the house
work, and if I'd come out to help,
they'd all tell me to get back into bed.
so that part was kind of nice."
The nice part didn't last long. A
week after she was out of the hospital,
new symptoms developed. Her right
leg began to drag, the result again of
the struggle between her body defense:
and the spirochete that was now pro-
ducing an inflammation possibly of the
brain itself or the blood vessels, which
restricted the flow of blood to the
brain.
One part of the brain controls le._
movements. That part was now in-
volved.
Later, Linda would develop inflanr
mation in her lungs.
As the disease advances through the
body, symptoms continually come and
nNt il:uin;: ;;n,•\;u•ctedly. anothc-r
unrxplainabiy d/nnnant.
since the hods• is producing antigens
and n_al:titie cell, to light the Spiro-
chete, s.N ILIP ung can Show up in man%
place and many times and at often
onprc•dictahle intervals. Li Linda's
case she began feeling it in the heart
and hillgs toe,.
n August, Linda went to see a
neurologist, and he ordered a se-
ries of neurological._tests W_ mG1U-
tck brain waves and visual and
auditory responses,, and he Wild her one
thing he was looking for was a.brain
I umor.
"He told me it wasn't a tumor to
worry about, and the tests would be
back in three weeks, and so I had three
weeks to wonder.... They went by
pretty fast, but I developed this pain in
my head then, just like something was
stuck in it, a rod or something, just
stuck there."
'1'o aid in the diagnosis of multiple
sclerosis, she said, she was given a
spinal tap. Within 12 hours she devel-
oped what she described as the worst
headache of her life, so bad it disabled
her. She couldn't move her head, and
for two full weeks she got out of bed
only to relieve herself. Her doctor told
her to take Tylenol. Tylenol didn't
help.
When the spinal tap failed to show
evidence of multiple sclerosis, a psy-
chiatrist was advised. She went to him.
"He listened to me for an hour and
said, 'Well, I can't tell whether your
problems are psychological or not.' He
patted me on the hack and told me he
really thought my problem was sexual
frustration and said we can give you
some antidepressants, and maybe they
can help.
"I said. 'No. I'm not depressed. I'm
sick,' and I left."
She went to another neurologist,
then a psychologist, took psychological
tests tall showed normal), then the
neurologist again. By this time he was
losing his patience. At one point, as
she recalls, he told her, "Well, what do
you want me to do, cut open your
head?"
It went on like that all summer:
head pains, chest pains, shortness of
breath, no strength, involuntary
spasms, her limp. And for the next two
years her life was a story of this ail-
ment or that, coming and going and
coming back again.
She was beginning W have doubts
about her sanity and would lie in bed
for hours at night trying to figure out
what was wrong. Her husband was
patient. Her kids were frightened. She
was often awake all night, and the kids
would get up in the morning and get
Lyme continued on page 14
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Lyme
read ,v for school without making a
sound.
That was her life until early in 1984.
She began having "hizarre weak spells
where I'd just start collapsing. b1y
whole body would jerk uncontrollable.
My foot would pull in sharply. One
night we were watching; television, and
my foot pulled in, and 1 said, 'Kim.
look at this,' and then my head felt,
funnv, and he laid me on the floor, and
illy whole body started jerking;, like I
was having a convulsion.... But we
didn't get shook tip by it. We were
getting used to those things. I was
getting numb to everything. I didn't
like it, but I didn't get shook by it.
"So in spite of the jerking around I
on the third day the
aching went
away. The jerking went
away. My walking was
better. 1 went out and
walked a mile."
Linda Hanner
could get up and do things in the
kitchen, and the kids would get the
giggles because it looked so funny, and
Jennifer (her 14 -year-old daughter)
thought I looked like a chicken walk-
ing, and we all got to laughing over it."
More inconclusive tests were made,
and once more her doctor was saying it
was a psychological problem, and so,
after three years, she was back to
square one again.
She was beginning to grasp at
straws. Once she heard about nervous
disorders caused by goat's milk, and so
she stopped drinking milk from her
goat.
n April 1984, Linda Harmer put
herself under the care of Dr.
Christian Schrock at North Me-
morial Medical Center, and by
January 1985 she was back in the
hospital for five days under the care of
another neurologist for tests designed
to find the cause of her chorea spasms.
She was also tested for lupus and dis-
eases similar to it.
'Just before. she P'asto leav_e1a hospi-
W aide _came,_in.and.sai'd, wait, they
needed,a little blood -for -one more test,
Lyme disease. That was a new one
`even for Lindh"Hunner. She went
home aad looke�t up in her expand-
ing medical library.
She found nothing.
And in subsequent visits to physi-
cians, no mention of it was made to
her because, as she was to learn later,
the state had sty III tle firt=h III
the accuracy t,f scrub) ical
'tests for Lyme disease that no
tests were completed.
In February, to control tier
spasins, it different tnedicine
was prescribed: prednisone,
an anti-inflawinatory drug.
It worked.
Her syntptonis disap-
peared. But it worked so well
it made her eutlhoric.
When she was told to cut
down the dosage, she began
developing frightening mood
swings. She didn't sleep. She
paced the floor. She said she
felt as if she were being
plunged into a pit. Her hus-
band took [ter tat stay for a
week with her mother, Mar-
ion Kaspar, in Deephaven.
She hadn't slept for four
nights. Then, one Sunday
night, she tried to snake din-
ner and couldn't.. Her hus-
band told her to go to bed.
"[ went into the bath-
room," she said, "and found
an old razor blade and cut my
wrists."
The next week she spent in
the psychiatric ward in North
Memorial Medical Center.
When she was released, she
c=ame home with four bottles
of medicine, including it bot-
tle full of sleeping pills. anti-
depressants and a couple of
varieties of tranquilizers.
She tells what happened a
week later:
"During thatr week i took
the medications, and we went
back to the doctalr and said
the medicine wasn't having
any effect. and I was getting
worse, not better, and I was
feeling out of control, very
agitated, and I couldn't sit
still for a second, and the only
time I was out was when I
took the sleeping medicine.
Then I'd be out for five hours,
and then I'd just snap to,
wide awake, and my mind
would be consumed with sui-
cidal thoughts. They domi-
nated roe, really. It was cold
outside, and I thought if I
went out far enough in the
park 1 could freeze to death,
and no one would find me.
"I was like a caged animal.
The kids kept trying to hug
me, and I couldn't respond,
and in my mind I thought
there was nothing they could
do for me. It was the day after
Easter. I took the bottle of
pills that afternoon. Kim got
home about 7 and found me
sacked out and knew some-
thing was wrong."
Next thing, Linda was in
fit,- 19ctrupolitan Mtdical
Ccnter in a holding ronin
With nothing but. a bed and
four walls and a locked bath-
romn to look at.. Site would be
there for three weeks, and,
she said, "it svared the living
daylights out of my husband.
"I began to really think I
was crazy. They were right all
these years. I really thoughti
would be spending the rest of
my life in a mental institu-
tion."
iter about 10
months, most of
her symptoms went.
away, and life was
getting back to normal. Then
bladder pressure returned.
Then the aching back. Then
the chorea. One night the
family was watching televi-
sion, and she started having
chorea spasms. Her husband
was so exasperated he got up
and walked out. The kids
started crying. She didn't
know what to do.
Once again, visits to a neu-
rologist. Once again, more
tests. Once again, more medi-
cine to control the spasms.
But now there was a differ-
ence. She found it difficult to
walk without losing her
breath. She couldn't even
make it around the grocery
stare. And so the cycle of doc-
tors and tests began again,
this time at the Mayo Clinic.
An electric neurostimulator
was attached to her side, and
it controlled the jerking
spasms even though they
hadn't been diagnosed. Later
a wheelchair was prescribed.
By spring, 1987. she said,
"I thought i was heading for
full-time use of the wheel-
chair."
Then one evening she saw
Schrock on television talking
about Epstein-Barr syn-
drome. She hadn't heard of
that before, and her focus
shifted. She called her neu-
rologist, Dr. John Witik of
Bloomingon, and he suggest-
ed tests for berth Epstein-Barr
and Lynne disease, and when
she told him she'd already
been tested for Lyme she
learned for the first time the
test had never been run.
"That got my hopes up,"
she said. "Maybe it really was
Lyme."
She_had_.jusL restiabsntt_a
woman in Plvmouth, Sandra
Wiiinzierl, whose syiiiptoins
were reniark abl . i" ar--to—
'hers. Fvcn her early dim
noses we re siniiiar
So none shore Linda hl:ut-
ner was tested fur Lyine. The
test showed s1w had it Iow
level of spirochete antibodies
in her blood, indicating she
had been bitten by a deer
tick. Butit. wast enough. The
family was happy to speiid
about $1,000 for the treat-
ment.w•ith an antibiotic called
ceftriaxone generically and
Rocephin commercially.
The way it works is simple.
It's intravenous.. It gets into
L ee —central nervous.. system
where the spirochete is caus-
-ing so much havoI% Then. it
'_kills the spirochete and elimi-
nates it from the body.
-,"The most I hoped for with
it," Linda said, "was that, it
would stop the ixuttresina ut
tht• dicea>:c, hecau_,e the arti
Iles I read on it said if the
sy-rnptont,. lasted too lon'„
Iliev might be irn•v,•:>:iltie. Sit
I didn't expec=t reversal.
'.Rut. on the third day the
aching went away. The jerk-
ing went aw•trv. M'v walking
was better. I event out and
walked it mile. fly 'Thanksgiv-
ing the symptoms were all
gone. I was back to normal."
On Dec. 16, 1987, Schrock
wrote W itik a letter. It said in
part.:
"The patient had a rather
remarkable response, and
within a few days developed a
lessening and then a complete
stoppage of her choreoform
Inn V 0 in V 11 i.•:."
"I had to pinch rtyscii,
Linda Banner.
Once again she's health.
and energetic. Once agai:
she's planning it big gardw
and working lots of' overtin:
on her new joh at. the weekl_
newspapers in Delano am
Rockford.
Now there's somethin,
new, though. She's writing t
book. It's called "Of Powe:
and Love," after a verse it
the Bible, and it's about
hanging in there when lift
gets tough.
George 2Nonaghan is a .Sm.
Tribune staff writ=er.
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MINUTES
PLYMOUTH DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL
April 27, 1988
PRESENT: Bob Burger, Burger Development Group, Inc. - Chair; Marlin Grant,
Marvin Anderson Contruction Co.; Del Wischmann, Quality Homes,
Inc.; Sherm Goldberg; Greg Frank, McCombs, Frank & Roos; Fran
Hagen, Westwood Planning & Engineering; David Segal, Enterprise
Properties; Tom Bisanz and Brian Carey, United Properties; John
Mullan, Barton-Aschman; Ted Hagen, Hans Hagen Homes; John
Griffith, Trammell Crow Company; Fred Moore, Blair Tremere, Chuck
Dillerud, Myra Wicklacz, Joe Ryan, Dick Carlquist, Jim Willis and
Frank Boyles, Plymouth City Staff
I. RESIDENTIAL LOT COVERAGE REQUIREMENTS - Bob Burger explained the research
provided by Marlin Grant regarding lot coverages in other cities. He
described the historical difficulties some builders have had with the City's
20% lot coverage requirement, particularly with decks being included in the
calculation, coupled with the market desire for larger houses and smaller
lots. This continues to be a problem for developers. Blair Tremere stated
that on several occasions, the Planning Commission and City Council have
discussed this matter. In each case, they have concluded that the City
needs to have a lot coverage standard, even though they have been willing to
review exceptions on a case by case basis. Both bodies have also taken the
position that the 20% coverage requirement includes anything built; decks
are often the first step towards an enclosed addition. Fran Hagen and Del
Wischman stated consideration must be given to the PUD lifestyle and to the
changing times. People want different things from their homes and private
space today. Marlin Grant, Bob Burger, Tom Bisanz and Blair Tremere will
act as a committee to prepare a position paper from the Development Council
to the Planning Commission and City Council on this subject, to determine if
alternatives to the existing code are available.
II. LEGISLATIVE REPORT
I. Planning Enabling Legislation - Blair Tremere reported that the
Planning Enabling Legislation Act was not passed. The extent of
its implications on metropolitan area cities is great and it is
likely the bill will be reintroduced.
2. Jim Willis provided the Development Council with a report on the
property tax reform proposals pending at the Legislature. He
reviewed various figures which are provided in the attached
material entitled, "What Does the Surburban Area Pay in Property
Taxes Relative to the Outstate Area?"
III. RESIDENTIAL SURVEY RESULTS - Frank Boyles reviewed the residential survey
results, including citizen perceptions of economic development in the
community. He stated that copies of the complete report are available for
$10.00 per copy by contacting him.
PLYMOUTH DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL
April 27, 1988
Page two
VI. PROPOSED POLICE AND FIRE ALARM AMENDMENTS - Dick Carlquist reviewed the
proposed police and fire alarm amendments. He stated that a letter,
together with the ordinance revision has been mailed to some 1,300
commercial/industrial concerns in the City, as well as to all homeowner
associations. The City will be working to publicize the revisions to avoid
problems once the ordinance is implemented. A meeting is scheduled for
May 17 at 7 p.m. at the Plymouth City Center to provide additional
information to interested parties on the revised ordinance.
V. PARKING REQUIREMENTS FOR COMMERCIAL/ INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS - Blair Tremere
reported that the Planning Commission is reviewing the Barton-Aschman study
results. The City Council has asked the Planning Commission to take its
time in reviewing this issue. The ordinance makes a distinction between
certain types of shopping center parking requirements. In some cases, six
spaces per thousand square foot is required and in other cases, ten spaces
per thousand square foot, is mandated. One of the questions is, should it
be one or the other? A copy of the study results will be provided to the
Development Council once they are available.
VI. BUILDING ISSUES - doe Ryan reviewed recent ordinance revisions requiring
current site plans for each building permit application. The plan must
identify all property dimensions with setbacks and elevations. Elevations
must also be provided for buildings on adjacent land for drainage purposes.
He also explained that the Building Inspection Division has standards
regulating its own performance on issues such as how quickly permits should
be issued, plans reviewed, and inspections performed. Copies were
distributed.
VII. OTHER BUSINESS - Fred Moore stated that the engineering requirements have
been revised to eliminate the 1" water service for water mains and a
temporary hydrant flushing is required. A letter has been sent on this
subject. Copies may be obtained from him.
Marlin Grant and others thanked dim Willis and the City Council for their
support to the Council and the open communications exemplified by this
meeting. Bob Burger stated that other communities are now being advised to
"do it the Plymouth way."
The meeting adjourned at 9:10 a.m.
FB:kec
NOTES FOR MAYOR SCHNEIDER
NORTHWEST SUBURBAN T.V. PANEL DISCUSSION
WHAT DOES THE SUBURBAN AREA PAY IN PROPERTY TAXES
RELATIVE TO THE OUTSTATE AREA ,
WHO NEEDS PROPERTY TAX RELIEF?
1. BASED UPON A MINNESOTA HOUSE RESEARCH DEPARTMENT STUDY, THE MEAN NET
PAYABLE 1988 PROPERTY TAXES IN THE METROPOLITAN AREA WERE $700, AS
COMPARED TO $342 OUTSTATE. THE AVERAGE METROPOLITAN HOME OWNER PAYS
MORE THAN TWICE THE PROPERTY TAXES AS THE OUTSTATE RESIDENT.
2. THE SAME STUDY INDICATES THAT THE 1988 NET PROPERTY TAX IN THE
METROPOLITAN AREA WAS 2.34 PERCENT OF THE AVERAGE INCOME, AS COMPARED TO
ONLY 1.74 PERCENT OF THE AVERAGE INCOME OUTSTATE. HERE AGAIN, THE
METROPOLITAN AREA IS PAYING A DISAPPORTIONMENT SHARE OF PROPERTY TAXES
AS COMPARED TO THOSE OUTSTATE.
3. THE REASON FOR THESE DISPARITIES IS BECAUSE STATE AIDS ARE GEARED TO
SHIFT MONEY FROM THE METROPOLITAN AREA TO THE OUTSTATE AREA. THESE
STATE AIDS ENABLE OUTSTATE COMMUNITIES TO MAINTAIN RELATIVELY LOW
PROPERTY TAXES AS COMPARED TO THOSE TAXES PAID BY METROPOLITAN CITIZENS.
4. WHERE DOES THE STATE MONEY COME FROM IN ORDER THAT THEY CAN SEND MONEY
BACK OUT TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT?
SOURCE OF REVENUE METRO AREA OUTSTATE
INDIVIDUAL INCOME TAX 65.7% 34.3%
CORPORATE INCOME TAX 70.7% 29.3%
SALES TAX 66.0% 34.0%
DISTRIBUTION OF STATE AIDS 45.8% 54.2%
IT IS CLEAR THAT THE METROPOLITAN AREA GENERATES THE TAXES WHICH SUPPORT
LOWER PROPERTY TAXES OUTSTATE.
TAX FACTS - HOW MINNESOTA COMPARES
TO OTHER STATES
All data per capita
Personal Income
Percent of Personal Income
after State and Local Taxes
State and Local Government
Expenditures
State and Local Government
Tax Collections
Individual Income Tax Collections
Property Tax Collections
Sales Tax Collections
1981 Rank 1986 Rank
11,017 17 149994 16
89.14% 38 88.56% 41
$ 2,102.19 6 $ 3,048.51 5
$ 1,169.63
11
$
1,715.19
12
$ 342.60
7
$
462.41
5
$ 326.92
22
$
528.98
19
$ 168.47
36
$
322.50
19
Data from Minnesota Taxpayers Association
fw(taxfacts) 1
Minutes of the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission Meeting
May 14, 1988
Page 21
Present: Chair Edwards, Commissioners Anderson, Beach, Hanson, LaTour, Rosen;
staff Blank, Patterson, Pederson; Councilman Sisk
Absent: Commissioner Reed
1. CALL TO ORDER
Chair Edwards called the May meeting to order at 7:40 p.m. in the Council
Conference Room.
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A motion was made by Commissioner Beach and seconded by Commissioner
Hanson to approve the minutes of the April meeting as presented. The
motion carried with all ayes.
3. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS
a. Athletic Associations. None were present at this meeting.
b. Staff. Mary Patterson stated that staff was very busy taking
registration for summer classes and that several classes are already
filled. Swimming registration is scheduled for Saturday, May 14.
She indicated that several of Rick Busch's sports programs are
underway and that he will be hiring additional field attendants.
C. Others. None.
4. REPORT ON PAST COUNCIL ACTION
a. St Mary's Park - Award Contract. Council awarded the contract for
the construction of the St. Mary's neighborhood park to Matt Bullock
Contracting Company.
5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
a. Request for Matching Funds - Greenwood/Oakwood PTO. This item was
carried over from last month, because PRAC needed some more
information from both schools in order to make a decision regarding
matching funds for their playground improvements. Regarding
Greenwood's request, they learned that there are 337 children living
within a 1/2 mile of Greenwood school. They also were informed by
Director Blank that the Greenwood area is not 50% developed, which
is one of the criteria for receiving matching funds. The funds
would be used to improve the playground used by the 4th -6th grade
children. The playground for the lower level grades has already
been installed and was paid for by the school. Commissioner Rosen
indicated that his concern was with the PTO not providing any sort
of budget or plan that PRAC could review prior to making a decision.
Other commissioners agreed that before any decision can be made,
May PRAC Minutes
Page 22
they would like to see a site plan and an estimated cost for
purchasing and installing the equipment. It was suggested that the
Greenwood PTO have a representative attend the June PRAC meeting and
provide this information.
Mary Norton and Bill Richardson, representing the Oakwood PTO, were
present for further discussion on the Oakwood request for matching
funds. They indicated that their PTO is setting aside $2,500 in
1988 and 1989 for their playground improvements, as well as having a
fundraiser in the fall. They estimate their project will cost
approximately $22,000 to complete including purchase and
installation of equipment, and they believe they will be able to
raise about $12,000 toward the project. The school district has
stated that they will clean the site, do site preparation and donate
the pea gravel. The PTO will volunteer some labor. PRAC informed
Ms. Norton and Mr. Richardson that they would discuss this request
later in the meeting when they reviewed the 1989-93 capital
improvements program.
b. Plymouth Creek Site Planning - George Watson. George was present to
share with PRAC the amended site plan for Plymouth Creek City park.
Amendments included an overlay showing the location of the community
center moved farther north, a library, elderly housing and parking.
The words "sculpture garden" had been removed and that area is now
being referred to as "civic plaza." The next step is to share this
plan with the Council and if approved by them, schedule some public
meetings.
A MOTION WAS MADE BY COMMISSIONER ROSEN AND SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER
ANDERSON TO FORWARD THIS SITE PLAN TO THE CITY COUNCIL FOR THEIR
REVIEW, FOLLOWED BY PUBLIC MEETINGS. The motion carried with all
ayes.
C. Park Usage/Cost Study Report Discussion. Director Blank informed
PRAC that the report from Edina still is not available, and based on
the need for that data, the Commission decided not to discuss this
item until that information has been received.
d. Lions Park Update. The playground improvements at Lions Park are
complete.
e. Parkers Lake Update. Director Blank announced that the picnic
shelters are scheduled to be completed by Friday, May 27, if the
weather cooperates. He shared with PRAC an old photograph that had
been discovered by the Plymouth Historical Society of a pavilion
that was once located on the south side of Parkers Lake. The
photograph will be enlarged and placed on display in the new
pavilion, along with any other old pictures that can be found of
Parkers Lake history.
f. St Mary's Neighborhood Park Update. A pre -construction meeting is
planned the week of May 16 with the contractor, and work should
begin the following week. Director Blank announced that the Council
awarded the contract including the parking lot.
May PRAC Minutes
Page 23
g. Community Center - General Discussion. Director Blank reviewed the
meeting dates coming up on the community center, and stated that
representatives from District 284 and Senior Community Services will
be at the May 18 meeting. District 281 may not be able to send
anyone on that date, because it conflicts with their board meeting.
Hockey and figure skating groups will be at the June 1 meeting, and
swimming groups will attend the June 29 meeting. Director Blank
indicated that he will be attending a training session in Colorado
in mid-June on the design and management of community centers. By
the end of July, Director Blank hopes that PRAC will have the study
put together for the Council to review.
6. NEW BUSINESS
a. 1989-93 CIP. Director Blank reviewed the draft 1989-93 parks
component of the CIP and indicated that it could be changed and/or
added to at this time or later. For the year 1989, staff is
proposing the addition of tennis courts and more parking at Plymouth
Creek, the first dredging of the pond at Plymouth Creek, the 2nd
phase garden at Parkers Lake, trail along West Medicine Lake Drive
from 26th Avenue to the park, and $8,500,000 for the community
center. The year 1990 includes the Swan Lake neighborhood park
(acquisition and development), a northeast neighborhood park site,
the Bass Lake playfield and neighborhood park, more dredging of the
Plymouth Creek pond, trails, and redevelopment of Kilmer
neighborhood park. In 1991, projects are the Parkers Lake
playfield, more dredging of the pond in Plymouth Creek park, the Mud
Lake neighborhood park, the parking lot at Timber Shores
neighborhood park, and miscellaneous trails. Projects proposed in
1992 include a neighborhood park near Vicksburg and 22nd Avenue,
more dredging of the Plymouth Creek pond, and miscellaneous trails.
The year 1993 calls for a neighborhood park near Fernbrook and
County Road 9, the pond in Plymouth Creek and miscellaneous trails.
It was suggested that the Kilmer neighborhood park redevelopment be
pushed ahead to 1989 and that the improvements for Oakwood and
Greenwood school playgrounds also be considered in that same year.
PRAC recommended giving the schools up to $10,000 but no more than
50% of the projects' costs.
Commissioner Rosen stated that he had been asked by a resident about
improvements at Shiloh neighborhood park and wondered how old that
playground was. Director Blank stated that Shiloh was in the
process of being built in the spring of 1980, making that equipment
about eight years old. He indicated that he has not been contacted
by anyone requesting that Shiloh be upgraded, although he is aware
that the equipment is in a low spot in the park and should probably
be moved to higher ground. It was suggested that Kilmer, Shiloh and
Gleanloch neighborhood parks be part of the park tour coming up on
May 19.
May PRAC Minutes
Page 24
7. COMMISSION PRESENTATION
Commissioners Beach, Edwards, Anderson, LaTour and Hanson indicated that
they would be going on the park tour.
8. STAFF COMMUNICATION
None.
9. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 10:13 p.m.
MINUTES
PLYMOUTH SAFETY COMMITTEE
May 25, 1988
PRESENT: Dan Campbell, Gary Pouti, Eric Luetgers, Steve Herwig, John
Ward, Tim Oie, Russ Elzy, Stan Scofield, Frank Boyles
ABSENT: Mark Peterson
ALSO PRESENT: Dave Drugg, North Star Risk Services; Dave Volker, Employee
Benefit Administration; Bobbi Leitner, Judy McMillin
I. OLD BUSINESS
A. APPROVAL OF APRIL 13 MEETING MINUTES
The committee approved the April 13 minutes as submitted.
B. Report on Safety Activities
I. Follow up on sight visibility at intersections. Frank Boyles
advised that it had been necessary to revise the Intersection
Sight Obstruction Policy to reflect the specific enforcement
responsibilities of the City Forester and Development Services
Technician. He stated that the Development Services Technician
will continue to be the responsible party for tracking the
enforcement process from beginning to end. Frank advised that
implementation of the policy will occur once the video on the
sight obstruction ordinance and policy enforcement has been
completed. Frank indicated that the video is being produced in
two parts; one video will be aimed at the public at large, and
one will be used internally for employee training purposes.
Dave Volker asked if the policy is applicable to all roadways in
Plymouth. Frank advised that the policy addresses only City
roadways. However, sight obstructions at intersections involv-
ing State and County roads, will be handled on a case-by-case
basis by working with the affected property owner and appro-
priate governmental unit.
Dave Volker recommended that illustrations of intersection sight
obstructions be included in the policy. Frank concurred and
stated that illustrations would be incorporated.
2. Revision of City Code Section 1310.03 relating to parking
re ulations -- Frank advised that the City Council had adopted
the ark ng Regulations ordinance at its April 18 meeting. The
ordinance allows city vehicles to park within 20 feet of an
Intersection or traffic control device when conducting official
city business.
PLYMOUTH SAFETY COMMITTEE
May 25, 1988
Page 2
3. Annual Inspection of City Facilities. The annual safety inspec-
tion of city facilities was conducted on May 12 and 13. Frank
advised that this year's inspection focused primarily on city
properties with building structures. He stated that a draft
inspection report is being reviewed by inspection participants
for thoroughness. The report will then be finalized and distri-
buted to city supervisors asking that items listed in the report
either be corrected or clarified. Frank anticipates that all
items will be completed within 30 to 45 days. The committee
will receive a copy of the report for review at its June meet-
ing.
Frank reported that two additional safety inspections will be
held later this year. One inspection will cover park facilities
without building structures, and the other will be an inspection
of City mobile equipment.
4. Employee Safety Manual. Frank showed the committee a draft copy
of the proposed Employee Safety Manual. Dave Volker recommended
that several blank pages be included in back of the manual which
will allow employees to note changes and additions to the
manual. The manual will be reviewed, printed and distributed
this summer.
5. Safety Recognition Luncheon. Frank reported on the luncheon
held on May 24 to recognize the efforts of city supervisors and
Safety Committee members for the City's receipt of the Minnesota
Safety Council's meritorious achievement award in accident
prevention.
II. NEW BUSINESS
A. Consent Agenda. The committee approved the consent agenda as
presented. The agenda contained one personal injury accident which
was determined to be non -preventable.
B. Review of Vehicular & Personal Injury Accidents. The committee
reviewed one personal injury and two vehicular accidents. One
vehicular accident was determined preventable, with the other
vehicular accident tabled to the June meeting to allow committee
members an opportunity to view and examine the accident scene. No
determination was made on the personal injury incident.
The committee's review of the above accidents resulted in the
following recommendations or items for follow-up:
1. Street Crack Sealing -- Due to the seasonal nature of this
work and the type of equipment utilized, the committee
recommends that employees rotate job duties when performing
this work to reduce fatigue and likelihood of muscle strain.
PLYMOUTH SAFETY COMMITTEE
May 25, 1988
Page 3
2. Abandoned Light Base Standard -- The Minnesota Department of
Transportation should be notified to request the removal of
the abandoned light base standard located on the shoulder of
eastbound Highway 55 and I-494. (The standard is covered
now.)
3. Manhole Covers -- Ensure that the manhole covers along
Highway 55 which extend above the ground surface are clearly
marked to avoid being hit by bicyclists or snowmobilers.
4. Parker's Lake Park -- Consideration should be given to the
relocation of the park bench and bulletin board at Parkers
Lake Park where the city trail and Luce Line trail inter-
sect.
5. Supervisor's Report on Accident -- City supervisors are
reminded that upon learning of an on-the-job accident they
are to immediately complete and submit a Supervisor's Report
of Accident to the Finance Department. The City is fined by
the State if the completed report is not received by the
State within 14 days of notification by the employee.
6. Hazardous Material Removal (May 14 Dundee Nursery Fire) --
The City staff will have to prepare a standard operating
procedure on response to hazardous material fires and clean-
up in accordance with Federal requirements. Such recommen-
dations must be incorporated into the 1989 budget request.
III. OTHER BUSINESS
Dave Volker reviewed slides of the Minnetrista drywell lift station
where a city maintenance employee was fatally injured last month.
The meeting adjourned at 9:55 a.m.
DATE OF
SEMINAR/CONFERENCE:
LOCATION:
EMPLOYEE ATTENDING•
TOTAL COST:
CONFERENCE/SEMINAR REPORT
May 17-20, 1988
New Orleans
Dale E. Hahn �k*t
$1,077.00
PURPOSE/THEME OF CONFERENCE: National Public Risk and Insurance Management
Association Annual Conference. The conference included numerous sessions
running concurrently dealing with topics of general liability, police
liability, litigation management, workers compensation, self-insurance,
software, and the new guidelines for financial reporting.
DESCRIBE BENEFIT TO EMPLOYEE/CITY: Of particular interest was the session on
police liability. This session dealt with the many potential liability
situations that the police officers encounter daily. It also discussed the
process of getting police departments accredited. All departments in
attendance were very supportive of the accreditation program and believe it
helped police departments avoid many instances of potential liability. They
did however, say that accreditation program requires a very definite
commitment of personnel to assure the program does not stall. One of the
sessions dealt with a computer program designed for tracking and managing
claims. A program similar to this could be designed on our micro computer and
be very beneficial to the City of Plymouth. The session on financial
reporting for risk management purposes explained the new details that will be
required in the future financial reports. As we continue toward more self
insurance, the various deductible amounts assumed by the City will need to be
disclosed within the notes to the financial statements.
In addition to the valuable information received from the various sessions, of
equal importance, is the interaction between fellow risk managers and the
various insurance providers. This interaction involves sharing of ideas to
avoid potential liability, self insurance, and good claims management.
COVER STORY
PART 1
Huddled Masses
Yearning for Space
SUMMARY: The Ozzie and Harriet type of existence that attracted
millions to a suburban life is vanishing. What were once quiet and
uncluttered communities have become noisy and congested — the very
conditions suburbanites hoped to avoid. As these new cities have
become magnets for Industry, where land Is often cheaper and rents
lower than In the central city, competition has Increased for the
once -plentiful land. Some suburbs and activists have worked to halt
overbuilding, but they face an uphill battle against eager developers.
orthwest of Atlanta.
along U.S. Route 41.
all the necessities of life
are lined up like dishes
on a sideboard. The
cars that residents buv
from dealers on the strip
between the Cha«ahoochcc Rivcr and 1:".ar-
ietta can be washed, gassed up, repaired
and resold without leaving the road. Locals
can buy groceries and eat in or they can
dine out in the vast array of restaurants in
the corridor known as Cobb Parkway. They
can charge clothes and household furnish-
ings at the Cumberland Mall, work in the
Galleria office center, bowl or catch a
movie. They can live in deluxe apartments
amid well-groomed complexes that front
on the roadway or in large, detached single-
family homes on landscaped lots a mere
block from it. The\ never have to leave
Route 41. Eternity is there at the Georgia
Memorial Park cemeten.
As noon approaches and workers spill
from the offices and retail stores in quest
of repast, autos. vans and trucks slow to a
cr-v
1 at ous --ins Heavy traffic.
r
the kind that induces stomachs to chum. is
the most visible evidence that the suburbia
in which many Americans grew up is van-
ishing. A transplanted Chicagoan who
moved to the Atlanta suburbs five years ago
recognized the end of the traditional subur-
ban experience when she timed an increas-
ingly routine traffic delay: a mile in 17
minutes. "Our image of suburbia is at odds
with what suburbia is today. So man\ of the
people who live in suburbs want this old
Baldassare: "Our image of suburbia is at odds witn wnat suDurDia is touay.
suburb, this quiet residential Ozzie and
Harriet suburb that no longer exists;' says
sociologist Mark Baldassare. author of
"Trouble in Paradise"
Once the urban fringes to which workers
retired at the end of a busy day in the city.
suburbs have been transformed into places
where Americans live, shop, work and
play. Condominiums and town houses are
plotted on land that in years past would
have yielded a single home on a lush and
stater lawn or several tract houses of
nearly identical exterior.
Geographer Truman A. Hartshorn of
Georgia State University refers to the
evolving suburbs as suburban downtowns,
natural progressions of a form that had its
origin in the bedroom communities that
sprang up in the first half of the century.
While the United States was caught up with
the Vietnam War and the counterculture
movement of the Sixties and early Seven-
ties. the suburbs were quietly undergoing
their own revolution. Typically preceded b\
the arrival of a regional shopping mall to
capture the middle- and upper-class mar-
kets, massive employment opportunities
migrated out of town. By 1973, according
to Hartshorn, there were more jobs in the
suburbs than in the central, and oftentimes
decaying. cities.
Only since the beginning of this decade.
as Hartshorn and Peter O. Muller of the
University of Miami describe it in a stud\
of suburban downtowns, have these areas
gained a prominence that may eventual]\
transcend the central city from which the\
were spawned. In two suburban nodes in
the Atlanta region, Cumberland -Galleria
and Perimeter Center -Georgia 400, for in-
stance, the average rents surpass those in
downtown Atlanta. Higher rents for presti-
gious high-rise office and high-tech build-
ings are likely to become ubiquitous a�,
developers offer amenity packages often
unavailable from the downtown landlord:
free parking, exquisite landscaping and
health clubs.
Baldassare, a professor at the Universi-
ty of California at Irvine, dubs the new
form "disurbia": dense, industrial. self -
s INSIGHT / MAY 30.19,"
Perimeter Center began as a low-rise and low-density development, but recent construction is,lubi <uc uppumm.
contained urban regions. Within disurbia.
minicenters arise. serving as magnets for
commerce, culture, entertainment. the
arts, major shopping areas and high rises.
"No one center by itself is a Itraditionall
downtown;' he says. Taken together.
though, the minicenters enable regions to
break their ties to the central cit}.
istorian Robert Fish-
man of Rutgers, the
State University of
New Jersey, calls them
technoburbs or tech-
nocities in his recent
study of the evolution
of suburbia. They differ from the suburbs
of the past in their linkage of the work site
and the dwelling place. Suburbia originated
as a place to escape the city, to shield
women and children from the evils of urban
society and to ensconce the family unit in
a privacy and intimacy that the city could
not offer. "Every true suburb is the outcome
of two opposing forces, an attraction to-
ward the opportunities of the great cite and
a simultaneous repulsion against urban
life;' Fishman writes in "Bourgeois Uto-
pias: The Rise and Fall of Suburbia"
The great attraction of the suburbs con-
founds stalwart city dwellers. Yet more than
four in 10 Americans now live in the burbs.
more than the number living in cities. Their
reasons are plentiful and illustrate the di-
chotomy Fishman addresses. Schools gen-
erally are better, housino is cheaper and
crimes are fewer. Suburbs have also served
as a buffer between the have,, and the have-
nots and lent credence to a middle-class
family's upward mobilit,,. Perhaps most
important, the,, signified the United States
pioneering spirit represented by that piece
of earth Americans could call their own.
These new suburban forms have not
emerged everywhere, but they are repre-
sented in man,, regions of the country. In
Schaumburg. outside Chicago: in the Cit,,
Post Oak section of Houston: along the
U.S. Route 1 corridor near Princeton, N.J.:
and in Orange County. southeast of Los
Angeles.
Among the first of the new suburbs was
Perimeter Center. in De Kalb County north
of Atlanta. Nestled among the trees and
shrubs in the campuslike setting are office
buildings (the creations of renowned archi-
tects). restaurants, hotels and a shopping
mall. From the streets, many of these struc-
tures are partially obscured by mature trees
in bloom. Plants and flowers flourish on
manicured medians.
In the late Sixties the Atlanta develop-
ment firm of Tavlor & Mathis Inc. acquired
550 acres north of Atlanta where De Kalb
and Fulton counties converge at Interstate
285, the Perimeter Highway. Pioneers of
the suburban office park concept, the de-
velopers had learned from a prior venture
the importance of controlling their sur-
roundings. Their leases gave them control
over signs. landscaping. curb cuts and
other design elements. "We wouldn't be
infiltrated with the fast foods, the filling
stations. car washes, with those parasite
type of uses that would spawn off of the
population that we created;' says James D.
Fluker Jr., executive vice president.
The company also practiced a low-rise.
low-density philosophy during the earl-,
years of the project to minimize residential
impact. Building height was kept to 10
stories and density to 12,000 square feet of
building per acre. "We felt we were invad-
ing suburbia with office developments. We
were going into people's backyards. We
were moving an office element into a resi-
dential environment;' says Fluker.
Five years ago. two Texas developers
outbid Tavlor & Mathis on the two remain -
int tracts. Two 18 -story buildings at 45.00(1
square feet per acre have been constructed
on one of the parcels. A 45 -story tower is
planned nearby. Skyscrapers rise out of the
e
INSIGHT ' MAY 30. 1988
Hartshorn: Suburbs supplanting cities.
Millions of dollars in road improvements
need to be made. The county is under court
order to build a jail. and eight new libraries
(at long last. in the view of many residents)
are in the works. The county was about
1.900 acres behind the standard set for
recreational use by the National Recreation
and Park Association. "During the time
when Gwinnett's growth was realh gearing
up. there were no infrastructure improve-
ments made. All the water system plans.
all the road system plans. nothing was
done:' says Helen Preston Tapp. executive
director of the Council for Quality Growth.
a broad-based industry group.
Newspapers are filled with articles, edi-
torials and letters about the problems asso-
ciated with growth. When the county alert-
ed residents about plans to close off some
streets to "thru traffic:' Deborah M. Don-
aldson of Norcross decried the dangerous
precedent she feared would be set. "The
foliage in plain view of the traffic on Perim- problem is not being solved. it is just being
eter Highway. Taylor & Mathis never in- shifted to someone else:' she wrote to the
tended to recreate downtown Atlanta. says Gwinnett Daily News. "I'm sure that with
Fluker. "That concept. though. is growing the uncontrolled growth of our county there
in the mind of other developers: are numerous other subdivisions ithat]
Along the stretch of highway between would like their roads closed to through
Perimeter Center and the community of traffic. But where does it end''
Buford in Gwinnett County. northeast of Where. indeed'? In Manassas. Va.. a far -
Atlanta. a solitary 65 mph speed limit sign western suburb of Washington. D.C.. de -
is posted in a tiny patch of a nearby county. velopers have broken ground on a regional
How can the higher speed. which Congress mall at the site of a Civil War battleground.
allows only in rural areas, be permitted? While the National Park Service seeks a
The rural definition, explains Johnny Isak- compromise. Congress is attempting to
son, minority leader of the Georgia House block the development altogether. At times
of Representatives. is based on the 1980 it seems as though all of suburbia is being
census; when the 1990 census results are converted into concrete, glass and steel.
in, no place in the seven -county region will
be able to claim rural status.
The population of the Atlanta region has
exploded to 2.56 million, its newfound
economic vitality attracting entrepreneurs
and regional companies as well as those of
the Fortune 500. Only Dallas -Fort Worth
and Phoenix, among large metropolitan
areas, registered population rate gains
larger than Atlanta's 19.8 percent from
1980 to 1986, according to Census Bureau
estimates. Gwinnett Countv has its own
distinction: Its rate of growth is the fastest
among urban counties in the United States,
having added an estimated 312 percent.
225,000 people. from 1970 to 1987.
"Growth can be a win-win situation:'
says Isakson, a Republican. He also ac-
knowledges that the unbridled growTh has
its drawbacks. "Services are always chas-
ing development. That is where the major
problem comes"
Three times Gwinnett County has for-
bidden new tie-ins to the sewer system.
The Council for Quality Growth four .':
surprising results in a survey of resident -
Those who had lived in the area the longe>t
were the least concerned about growth:
short-term residents were more upset. sad
Tapp. "One of the problems is unrealistic
expectations. People come out here ane;
expect, when they buy a house in a subdivi-
sion that looks at a farm. that farm will b,
there in five years or 10 years. When that
rezoning sign goes up, they go crazy:"
owhere are the infra-
structure shortcoming,
more pronounced than,
on the roads and high-
ways. Some 20 miles
from downtown Atlanta
on Interstate 85, two
lanes of exiting traffic back up onto the
freeway during the curiously named eve-
ning rush hour. Turning onto the interstate
from such arterial routes as Pleasant Hill
Road — which is anything but pleasant in
the morning rush — is also a waiting game.
The Gwinnett scene is replayed twice
daily in suburban growth centers nation-
wide. The Southern California Association
of Governments warned recently that aver-
age commuter speeds on the nation's most
famous freeways will plummet to 11 mph
by 2010 unless drastic measures are taken.
At 3:30 in the afternoon traffic has backed
up on the Los Angeles freeways as basket-
ball fans try to make their way to the Forum
in suburban Inglewood for a 7:30 Laken -
game. It's not just the highways; local roads
are ill-equipped to absorb the growing traf-
Suburban strips like Cobb Parkway offer such urban amenities as "HIL Jauu.
INSIGHT i MAY 30. 1%r�
•n
Suburbia: An
'' \ 420 _ -
MS \
City of Atlanta
Georgia
1-75
FDouglas
flufflahmr3ree River /
41
55
Cobb
County
Cumberland Mal
and Galleria/
Fulton
County
btropolltan Atlanta
a ? 14
tw.s
�l
Image at Odds
Perimeter I f
Gwinnett
Gwlnnatt County
Raw Mat
city
urriftl
De Kalb
�
� / ;County
1t nta
20 Rockdale
75 County
County
fic. And it's not just during tush hour.
Alreadv the traffic in Orange County is
making an impact on how business is con-
ducted and where and how people liyc.
Breakfast meetings beginning at 7 to 7:30
are becoming fashionable because traffic
dooms luncheon meetings — a cruel blocs
to the image of laid-back Southem Califor-
nians. Orange Countians postpone visiting
friends, change their choice of restaurants
and movies and. if they can afford to, move
closer to their places of employment.
"If you're not here by 10, forget it:' saes
a teenager at Sand Creek Park on the Coast
Highway. Then there is no place to park his
pastel -decorated white van at the beach.
Although Baldassare lives near the Ir-
vine campus, he regularly visits the Los
Angeles Times and San Francisco Chroni-
cle. for which he conducts survey research.
Yet the flight to San Francisco is often less
time-consuming than the 40 -mile drive
from Irvine to the Times. John Wayne Air-
port is within minutes of the university. and
the 430 -mile trip to San Francisco is less
than an hour. "It can take me two hours to
get to Los Angeles."
Other physical limitations have surfaced
as development has outpaced services and
improvements. Overburdened water and
sewage systems, dwindling farmland and
crowded schools add to the frustrations.
In Atlanta, the problem of diminishing
water supply is exacerbated by regional
growth. Harry West, executive director of
the Atlanta Regional Commission. is cau-
tiously optimistic: "We aren't going to run
out of water anytime soon if we are able to
implement the management techniques
that we know work and are available.' A
proposed dam would alleviate the regions
water shortage until 2010.
Seven counties make up the metropolitan
Atlanta region, one of the fastest-growing
locales in the United States. Most of the
growth has been in the northern suburbs,
where business centers are converting
what were once residential communities
into a new suburban form that relies
less on the central city.
Gwinnett schools are not alone in feel-
ing the crush of a surging student body. The
counts's public school system enrolls about
4.(KX) nea students a year. "We have 90
more than last s\ eek. IS more than yester-
day:' says Superintendent Alton Cress s. By
1990 he expects the total number of stu-
dents to have doubled during the decade.
' lve are very crowded. \ve are jammed
into buildings. but our pupil -to -teacher ra-
tio 120 -to -1 ] has not gone up. We do not
stack more kids in a room:' Auxiliary fa-
cilities — cafeterias, libraries and so on —
bulge. Lunch is served in shifts from 10:30
to 1:30 to accommodate all the students.
What the school district has done to allevi-
ate the crowding is embark on an aggres-
sive construction program and ring its
schools with 325 portable classrooms. Dur-
ing the past decade it has built an a\.. +_
W100 classrooms annually and anticip,l::.
doubling that in the next five years.
will not catch us up says Crews.
In spite of the crowding. the scK
system consistently ranks at the top of tl,:
academic achievement ladder in the stat..
Crews believes the degree of growth ha -
been advantageous in some respects. A
greater variety of classes can be offered.
The district's reputation attracts a rich sup-
pl\ of teachers from around the nation. and
students are exposed to people of man
nationalities as employment opportunities
drays a worldwide pool of workers.
Gwinnett County residents have been
willing to support the massive construction
program that requires a bond issue every
other year. Gwinnett also has the good
fortune of a tax base that has expanded
along with the need for additional revenue.
Similar financial support. however, is
not always achievable in many high-growth
areas. John Erskine, executive director of
the Building Industry Association of Or-
ange County. faults the public for rejecting
in 1984 a 1 -cent sales tax earmarked for
road improvements. He also blames local
governments for not finding ways to solve
the problems. In his role as mayor of Hun-
tington Beach, though, he concedes that
certain kinds of development may have to
be curbed. "We probably have approved
too much commercial and industrial devel-
opment:' he says, explaining that such
buildings. which are operating at about a
25 percent vacancy rate, generate a lot
more traffic than housing.
Imine Mayor Larry Agran, who is on
Atlanta's mass transit is ill-equipped to handle suburbanites' commuting neeas.
12 INSIGHT / MAY 30, 1988
the opposite side of the development debate
in Orange County, holds a similar view on
taxation. Since California voters approved
Proposition 13 in 1978. which severely
restricts property taxes, elected officials
have interpreted that as a signal that the
public will not tolerate any new taxes. "You
can play that game for just so long:' says
Agran. before building to expand the tax
base overburdens the infrastructure.
How localities would apply new taxes
to solve the problems associated with rapid
growth is a problem in itself. Mass trans-
portation systems were planned to bring the
masses from the suburbs into the central
city: most do not operate well in reverse.
Outbound commuters are dumped at large
parking lots or rail stations from which they
have to figure out ways to reach their work-
places. Rarely are mass transit systems set
up to convey passengers from one suburb
to another. And cars add to the congestion
on suburban roads.
Lower-income workers are the big los-
ers. as more jobs become physically in-
accessible. One Southern Californian tells
of a former coworker who left for work at
5 a.m. and got home at 8 p.m. because she
had to take three buses in each direction.
"The large disadvantaged populations of
the inner central cities can be expected to
experience further erosion of their already
weak economic -geographical position vis a
vis the metropolitan labor market:' Hart-
shom and Muller say in their study. One
category of workers, however. has profited:
those from rural areas who lived far away
from central business districts.
Housing is too expensive in many of
these thriving suburban areas for clerical
and retail workers and other support staff.
Average prices last year for houses in south -
em Orange County ranged from $545,000
in Newport Beach to $139,987 in EI Toro,
according to a report in the Orange County
Register.
The six -city area of Santa Clara County
known as the Golden Triangle is experienc-
ing severe housing and job mismatches.
Not only is housing far removed from em-
ployment centers, but numerous workers
must be imported from elsewhere. In 1980,
170,000 workers made the daily commute
to the area, southeast of San Francisco on
the bay. The Golden Triangle will need an
estimated 48,000 to 67.000 new housing
units merely to keep commuter congestion
from getting any worse. Aggravating the
situation, building houses where land is
available would worsen congestion because
the sites are not near employment centers.
Some people fear that the independence
Crowding at Gwinnett schools has put some students in the hallways.
of the suburbs is leading toward a more
isolated society. Everyone gets in cars to
drive — to work. to lunch. to the grocery.
to home. Fewer people walk down the city
streets. They go home to communities built
behind gates and fences. "The suburbs do
seem to breed a kind of insularity through
a lack of community:' says Baldassare. 'A
greater social separation of groups occurs
than has ever existed before.
elinda Blacketer, an at-
torney who helped draft a
"balanced growth" initia-
tive for Orange County.
theorizes that the rapid
transformation of suburbia
has stripped people of
their sense of community. identity and so-
cial responsibility. The county. she notes.
ranks lowest nationwide in proportion of
income given to charity. "It's hard to have
a sense of community in Orange County.
You spend all your time driving from one
place to another. We don't design places for
people anymore. We design monuments:'
In his book. Fishman notes that many
planners condemn the new suburban form
on two fronts. "First, decentralization has
been a social and economic disaster for the
old city, and for the poor, who have been
increasingly relegated to its crowded, de-
cayed zones. It has resegregated American
society into an affluent outer city and an
indigent inner city, while erecting higher
barriers that prevent the poor from sharing
in the jobs and housing of the technoburbs.
Second, decentralization has been seen as
a cultural disaster Despite all the ameni-
ties that are being brought to the suburbs.
their cultural richness will never replace
that of the old urban core. Fishman buys
into that argument, but he also believes that
while the form is still evolving, progress
cannot be ruled out.
Local officials sometimes are the targets
of a suspicious public. Voters in Fairfax
County. Va.. last fall ousted their longtime
county chairman because of traffic and de-
velopment. Tom Rogers, a former Orange
County Republican chairman and a founder
of the initiative movement, has called for
the recall of two county supervisors. "The
people have to be brought back into the
loop of decision making:' he says.
Some of the criticism seems justifiable.
In Gwinnett County, $1.16 million in fed-
eral and state money was spent to build a
park-and-ride lot off Interstate 85 at the
Indian Trail-Lilbum Road exit. Opened in
1984, the 506 -space lot is about 90 percent
empty at midday because there is no transit
system to take drivers anywhere.
As the rural gives way to the suburban.
not everyone has been locked out of the
sylvan setting, at least not yet. But "only
the wealthy are going to be able to live in
suburbs that are not at all commercial or
industrial:' says Baldassare.
Hartshorn adds another likely place
where suburbs will persist in the old mold:
"You'll probably find [traditional suburbs]
where there's a dying economy. where no
one would want to be" He believes people
will be happy, in the new suburbs, once the
kinks from rapid growth are straightened
out. "I think all these people who have been
negative about it are missing the point. For
most Americans, I would think it's more
important to have a job and have access
than it is to live that myth"
— Karen Diegmueller
INSIGHT i MAY 30. 1988 13
Smaller Cities Fear Suburbs' Success
Each time a shopping mall has been
proposed for the suburbs of New Ha-
ven, Conn., the city has used all avail-
able means to block it. "New Haven is
very concerned that if a mall is built in
the immediate vicinity, that will suck
the last breath out of downtown;' says
Michael Patrick Lawlor, a member of
the Connecticut General Assembly.
The city of Laguna Beach, Calif.,
has about 200,000 square feet of com-
mercial space in its small downtown
area. A project approved recently by the
Orange County Board of Supervisors
will bring 470,000 square feet of shop-
ping space to Laguna Canyon. "It's
probably going to kill the rest of our
business downtown and change the
character forever;' says Belinda Black-
eter, a Laguna Beach attorney involved
in an effort to slow growth in the county.
The New Yorks, Chicagos and Los
Angeleses have little to fear from their
suburbs. But as the suburbs become
more independent, medium-size cities
and small towns operating at the margin
are in danger of obsolescence.
"Towns the size of East Haven are
beginning to acquire all of their own
urban amenities;" says Lawlor, who rep-
resents the working-class suburb of
25,310 southeast of New Haven. "That
is the trend that concerns me because
once that is allowed to reach its ultimate
point, where every city of medium size
has everything it needs, then the urban
core, the center cities, are going to die,
because there's going to be no reason to
live there"
Since flight to the suburbs began to
accelerate after World War H, hastening
with the spread of interstate highways,
many older urban areas have been
grasping for survival as their tax bases
shriveled. Some, such as Pittsburgh and
Baltimore, have bounced back, typical-
ly by funneling money into their central
business districts for trendy retail cen-
ters and theater districts. As more busi-
nesses continue to be drawn to the sub-
urbs, though, these previously residen-
tial communities are also attracting
upscale restaurants, parks, theaters,
civic centers, athletic ballparks, muse-
ums and performing arts centers: ame-
nities that were once the exclusive do-
main of the central city.
Orange County, for instance, has its
own performing arts center. Because the
3,000 -seat theater in the heart of Costa
Mesa is less than 2 years old, it is
difficult to gauge any long-term suc-
cess. Nearby are three movie theater
complexes and South Coast Plaza, a
shopping mall of approximately 260
shops (the kind of which can be found
on Rodeo Drive), eight major depart-
ment stores and valet parking.
"Many people can live their entire
lives and never go downtown and see
the central city;" says Douglas R. Porter,
director of development policy research
for Ume Urban Land Institute. a private
land use research group based in Wash-
ington. During the celebration of the
Redskins' Super Bowl victory, Porter
noticed fans telling television reporters
the parade marked the fust time they
had been to downtown Washington in
three years.
Tyra Hart lives and works in Cobb
County. Ga. She visits downtown At-
lanta maybe three times a year to eat at
the Varsity, a local institution across the
street from Georgia Tech. She says she
has nothing against going into town, but
aside from dining at the popular eatery
she believes there is no reason to.
Suburbs thrive on competition with
the cities. Nothing pushes them into the
limelight more than luring a major cor-
poration, say, or a sports team to their
town, providing them with a significant
source of revenue and celebrity. "Some-
times you get a feisty suburb competing
with eight or 10 others around the met-
ropolitan area;' says Ron Straka, Den-
ver's deputy director of urban design.
"Each one wants to be the biggest guy
on the block: 'We want the baseball
stadium here or we want to move the
football stadium here. We'll give cheap
land and all these other wonderful
things. We'll give the store away.' With
that they gain an instant identity. What
that does to the central city is make them
react. Sometimes that competition will
wake up the sleeping giant"
It also has been known, to backfire.
When some of St. Louis's suburbs be-
gan vying for the Cardinals,the football
team wound up in a suburb of Phoenix,
due largely to political infighting.
Posing greater concern is the in-
creasing separation of the haves from
the have-nots. "The city has many peo-
ple who need jobs and can't get to jobs.
Lots of places out in the boondocks find
themselves unable to get employees. It
is an appalling waste of resources to put
Arts center serves Orange County.
those opportunities out there and not be
providing connections;' says Tom Wey-
andt, Atlanta's commissioner of com-
munity development.
"This crisis can be expected to deep-
en as the suburbanization of the Amer-
ican city is completed in the final years
of this century, exacerbating the already
alarrning differences in economic op-
portunity and quality of life between the
employed and the underemployed and
unemployed;' write geographers Tru-
man A. Hartshorn and Peter O. Muller
in their study of the employment impli-
cations of suburban business centers.
On balance, Weyandt says, cities
have survived numerous assaults and
persevered. "The suburbs are beginning
to have exactly the same kinds of prob-
lems that the city had 10, 15 years ago.
Traffic is getting way out of hand. They
can't widen the streets anymore. Neigh-
borhoods are organizing to prevent
roads from going through. They've got
no transit so they have few options, and
they've zoned everything out the roof
already. They've just lost control of
things. Their problems are really very
bad, while here, not that we don't have
things to deal with, but we've got sys-
tems in place, we've got zoning in
place. We can tell people where they
need to be. We can help them get there.
I just don't worry about the competi-
tion" N
INSIGHT MAY 30. 1988 11
COVER STORY
PART 2
Residents Trying to Stop
a Niagara of Urbanization
SUMMARY: Rapid development and traffic problems have spurred many
resident groups to seek "slow growth" measures to thwart the
urbanization of their communities. Local officials and builders
frequently warn that such policies will undermine the economic base.
Developers nationwide are finding that it Is no longer business as
usual: They have to deal with both traditional and new regulations.
EMOV1110
Fast growth in Cranberry Township, once a quiet area, is causing problems.
lose your eyes and the
faintest aroma of manure
drifts by, briefly over-
powering the gasoline
fumes. A cow grazes on
the place where the
K mart now hawks its
blue -light specials. So freshly uprooted and
paved over are the rows of corn that reached
toward the horizon, it is difficult to believe
the sensations are merely imaginary.
Until developers realized its potential,
Cranberry Township was a rural hamlet.
Flatland and a setting at the junction of
three major highways have changed it into
one of the fastest-growing communities in
the country, as the Pittsburgh suburbs push
out beyond the Allegheny County line.
Each decade since 1950 the population of
this community, some 20 miles north of
downtown Pittsburgh, has jumped 100 per-
cent or better. Estimates of new con-
struction value this year reach S35 million.
The township of some 15.000 inhabi-
tants is already feeling the twinges of sub-
urban growth. Two-lane roads are bogged
down in traffic and schools are getting
crowded. Officials worry about extending
sewer and water lines. although homes sell-
ing in the 5400.000 range on 2- to 3 -acre
lots are permitted to sink wells and install
septic tanks.
The government of Cranberry Township
is taking steps to check the rapid growth.
In some zones. for instance. the township
requires 100 -foot setbacks. Planned resi-
dential developments limit development to
75 percent of the land: 20 percent of it must
be dedicated to such active open space as
playgrounds and hiking trails. In other resi-
dential zones, only 10 percent of the land
can be developed. Cranberry officials are
also considering assessing impact fees.
which are based on the expected infra-
structure needs of a project.
'A lot of folks consider us tough to
develop in. We're finding more and more
the folks who play b}the rules don't have
any trouble out here:' says D. Jeffry Pierce.
CranbeM`s land use administrator.
Developers in many communities na-
tionwide are discovering that it is no longer
business as usual. Rapid development.
which breeds problems and resident unrest.
has seen to that.
"Most places are pro -growth; it's just
that the rules are changing:' says Thomas
P. Smith, assistant director of research for
the American Planning Association. Deal -
making and trade-offs are becoming com-
monplace. Higher densities are traded for
low- and moderate -income housing. If a
developer wants an office complex, mu-
nicipal officials say fine, upgrade the roads
and it's yours.
The new regulations often do not satisfy
suburbanites who must live with the nes,
shape of growth. "In almost every major
metropolitan area, some new [employ-
ment] centers have developed. In each one
of those the effects of growth have become
really big political issues. They pit some of
the people who have been there for a while
against the people who are just moving in.
says Smith.
In Orange County, Calif., for instance.
voters go to the polls June 7 to decide
whether to harness growth. If the Citizens'
Sensible Growth and Traffic Control Initia-
tive passes. "it will be one of those shots
heard around the country. It will be an
impetus for this movement to occur in other
suburban counties:' says Mark Baldassare.
a professor at the University of California
at Irvine. who has been tracking the pro-
gress of the referendum.
Proponents refer to it as a balanced -
growth initiative. Its detractors denounce it
as no -growth policy. Essentially it ties de-
velopment to infrastructure. Before a new
residential neighborhood is built, for exam-
ple, the developer must assure officials that
adequate roads, parkland, water and sewer
systems, emergency services and so on
have been incorporated into the scheme.
The slow -growth movement has its
roots in the 1960s and early 1970s. Boul-
der. Colo., and communities in Oregon and
Northern California adopted or attempted
to implement measures that would curb
growth. Boulder established a population
ceiling: Livermore, Calif., put a mor-
atorium on building permits. Meanwhile,
an initiative limiting building height in San
Francisco was rejected. When the U.S.
economy began to wane, efforts to slow
growth were largely abandoned.
14 INSIGHT / MAY 30. 1988
Amid the economic revival of the
1980s. as the pace of development acceler-
ated. residents generally fed up with traffic
began anew bids to slow growth. Many of
California's ballot initiatives have passed
despite the ever -larger sums the develop-
ment community is investing to defeat the
proposals. Walnut Creek voters, for in-
stance. in November 1985 passed a two-
year moratorium on major projects even
though opponents outspent advocates
S220,000 to S11.645. reports the Journal
of Environmental Law.
What makes Orange County a surpris-
ing choice for slow -growth activity is the
political climate. Long on laissez-faire
business attitudes• the county that separates
Los Angeles and San Diego sports a repu-
tation as a stronghold of conservatism. But
the characterization. as it turns out. is only
partly accurate. When Baldassare began
conducting annual public opinion survey,
in 1982, he noticed a streak of liberalism.
Sure, Orange Countians are fiscal con-
servatives, but they veered away from the
Reagan camp on social and environmental
issues.
In 1984, w ic❑ t;c cont; Board of Su-
pervisors sought a 1 -cent sales tax increase
for road improvements. voters overwhelm-
ingly defeated it. Supporters of the "bal-
anced growth" initiative say the supervisors
misinterpreted the results as an antitax
A new development in Orange County
Orange County Tomorrow's Rogers leads the slow-growrth initiative movement.
backlash rather than a residential sentiment
that unrestrained growth was destroying the
qualit\ of life. The sales tax. according to
its opponents. would have subsidized new
growth rather than solved the traffic sit-
uation. At was a fraud on the public:' says
Toni Rovers. a founder of' Orange County
Tomorrow. the group that would spearhead
the iiitiati•,'e dii,
Best knnyn as the home of Disneyland.
or an unrecoenizable extension of Los An-
geles. Orange County boasts some of the
most spectacular scener-y in the united
States. Within its 798 square miles are
majestic mountains. sagebrush prairie. ver-
dant canons and breathtaking expanses of
Cliffs jutting out above the Pacific. For de-
cades the northern rim of the county served
as a bedroom community for Los Angeles.
The central and southern portions of the
count. save for several small beach com-
munities. were sparsely populated ranch -
lands, the legacy of historic Mexican land
grants. The city of Irvine. in the central part
of the county. has since become a burgeon-
ing employment center. as has Costa Mesa.
home of one of the largest shopping malls
in the country, a multitude of high rises and
the Orange County Performing Arts Cen-
ter.
As county residents relied less and less
on Los Angeles for jobs. they were able to
take advantage of lower-priced land and
housing farther south. Within the past de-
cade, new communities have sprung up in
the canyons and the flatlands and on the
mountainsides. Tiers of stucco houses with
terra-cotta roofs are densely packed across
the mountainsides of Mission Viejo. Con-
dominiums grow in the orange groves of
Laguna Niguel. The county supervisors re-
cently approved the development of 3.200
housing units and 470.000 square feet of
commercial space in Laguna Canyon.
Laguna Beach is a quaint, nearly idyllic
community on the Pacific Ocean. The side-
walks that line the Pacific Coast Highway
bustle with activity. Window-shoppers
browse at boutiques, lovers of sweets par-
take of the specialty cookie and frozen
vogun stores and college students play
volleyball at the oceanside park. A statue
of Eiler Larsen, the official Laguna greeter
until his death in 1975, welcomes visitors.
Developers are not so welcome any-
more. "Save the canyon" signs are posted
along Route 133, which winds its way from
Interstate 5 through the green and lush
canyon to the beach. It is areas like these
that initiative proponents hope to spare
from development. "When I was a little
girl:' says Belinda Blacketer, "you drove to
Santa Ana on Saturday and it was a big
deal :' The Laguna Beach attomey remem-
bers fields of orange and eucalyptus trees.
"It was beautiful" Now a trip to the county
seat, roughly 24 miles away, during rush
hour is a I'/a-hour drive past condos and
conurtercial strips.
Traffic is only the most visible concern.
Broadway, as Route 133 is known inside
city limits, is prone to flooding. "Most of
the county's flood control is inadequate and
there's not enough money to fix it. We don't
have enough foster homes, courtrooms,
public defenders, money for indigent medi-
cal costs. For some reason, nobody seems
to see that:' says Blacketer.
Until 10 years ago. Tom Rogers ran
cattle in the canyons of southern Orange
Countv. On his morning horseback rides he
had wfiat he calls an ant's -eye view of the
terrain. "You could see this deterioration of
natural resources" A gulch where his bull
wandered now holds town houses.
Rogers was active in local Republican
NS1GHT ! MAY 30, 1988 15
Caught in the Middle
ao5 /-
California
n /Disnevland 0
Santa Ana
LosEelarged
Angeles w MOI Pacific
Coast
San Diego Highway
Orange County Region
Orange County, located between Los Angeles
and San Diego, has developed in three phases.
The north, including Anaheim, the home of
Disneyland, and the county seat of Santa Ana,
served as bedroom communities for Los
Angeles. Cities like Irvine and Costa Mesa have
become major business centers. Rapid growth
and development of the southern portions
have catalyzed residents to challenge local
officials and the development community.
politics until he became disillusioned by the
influence of special interest groups. "It's
almost impossible for the average citizen to
perceive what is at stake in terms of dollars
and cents. The builders now have an undue
influence on the board by virtue of their
contributions:' The leader of the citizens
group supporting the initiative. Rogers has
made enemies among some of his old cro-
nies. "When people accuse me of being a
consecrative and bailing out, they miss the
whole point. Private properly is the very
essence of this thing. 1 have a right to the
peaceful enjoyment of my surroundings:'
The county and the building industry are
of another mind. John Erskine. who has
lived in Orange County since infancy, says
he doesn't mind the influx of new residents.
"I realize a lot of people moved here for a
better life. You can't just pull up the dra\y-
bridge until we solve the traffic problem:'
says Erskine, executive director of the
Building Industry Association of Orange
County.
The population in Orange County grew
from 1.9 million in 1980 to almost 2.2
million in July 1986, according to Census
Bureau estimates. Michelle Anderson
moved from the Midwest to Laguna Niguel
seven years ago. She moved to EI Toro to
be closer to work, and when traffic length-
ened her commute to an hour and 45 min-
utes (it's a 20 -minute trip at 3 in the mom-
ing), she changed jobs. "Tell everybody to
stay away;' she jests. "We're ready to head
the other way" Adds her husband, Mark. a
native Pennsylvanian, "I would rather
change my profession than see this land
developed:' He is a sales representative.
Initiative proponents have been accused
of seeking exclusionary zoning. Minor-
ities. principally Hispanics and Asians, in-
habit the older areas of the county such as
Santa Ana and Garden Groh Says Irvine
Orange County
Irvine
Laguna Mission
Canyon \•Viejo
\� 133 Laguna
-aguna
Niguel
Beach
p 7 14
Miles
Mayor LamAgran. "I have no interest in
exclusionary policies. We want to build
thoroughh integrated communities:'
Housing ma\ become even less afford-
able if ¢rowth is curbed. Prices of an aver-
age home have risen S20.000 in the county
in the past year. but it could be a natural
market increase unrelated to the pending
initiative. Forces against the initiative say
housing prices %%ill soar if the measure
passes because demand will not subside.
In California, as elsewhere. most ju-
risdictions draft master plans, detailing the
location of zoning. California's is called a
general plan. ' The basic intent of the gen-
eral plan is still there. What has changed is
the development philosophy:' says Kenneth
C. Winter. manager of coastal and commu-
nity planning in the planning department of
Orange County's Environmental Manage-
ment Agency. To handle the influx of in-
habitants and rising land prices. Orange
County increased density. Where pre-
viously three single-famiiy houses were
built to an acre. today there are five or six.
Winter estimates the overall density at 10
dwelling units per acre, as multifamily
complexes have proliferated.
Density frequently is at the core of the
slow -growth movements, with single-fami-
ly homeowners attempting to keep out mul-
tifamily dwellings. But in the long run,
fighting higher densities only adds to the
problems residents are trying to overcome.
says Douglas R. Porter. director of devel-
opment policy research for the Urban Land
Institute, a private land use study. group.
Spreading out the populace "makes people
completely and utterly dependent on lots of
cars:' he says.
Despite the increase in density. Winter
says the county is compelling developers to
preserve significant portions of land. 'All
of the environmentally sensitive canyons in
here will be preserved in open space:' in-
cluding 76 percent of the land in Laguna
Canvon. he says.
As the June referendum approaches.
members of the county planning staff are
scrambling to process development agree-
ments, the contractual arrangements spell-
ing out what the developer is allowed to do
and the concessions he is willing to make.
Orange County began using the procedure
about a year ago. Unlike traditional govern-
ment approval processes, in which officials
can seek changes throughout, development
agreements bind both parties unless the
developer and the county agree to a change.
Under the procedure, Winter says, the
county could get the developer to make
more concessions. "One of the main bene-
fits is the completion of the planned road
system:' he says. Initiative supporters,
however. claim the county is using the de-
velopment agreements to circumvent the
likely outcome of the vote. Either way, both
sides expect to end up in court.
While efforts in Orange County have
centered on the initiative. some residents of
the Atlanta region have adopted an "if you
can't beat 'em, join 'em" attitude. As com-
mercial and industrial development began
to encroach on residential neighborhoods.
homeowners assembled their parcels and
sought rezoning to sell the package to de -
Blacketer cites overburdened services.
16 INSIGHT / MAY 30, 1988
velopers at high profits. From 1983 to earl\
1986. 16 neighborhoods assembled parcels
for rezoning and sale. according to a study
by Research Atlanta. a public policy re-
search group. Officials denied four rezon-
ing requests. but courts have generally
sided with homeowners. thwarting local
jurisdictions' planning and zoning powers.
"This is not a no -growth region in terms
of its attitude. 1 don't anticipate it becoming
that anytime in the foreseeable future:' -says
Harry West, executive director of the At-
lanta Regional Commission.
But its anything -goes attitude is erod-
ing. 'Atlanta is just catching up on how to
make things difficult:' says home builder
John Wieland. His company builds single-
family detached homes that peak at about
$250.000, the least controversial type of
development. Yet when he wanted to sub-
divide for 19 1 -acre lots in rural Fayette
County. he says, the surrounding home-
owners "went crazy" and the county plan-
ning commission turned down the request.
citing inadequate road capacity. W'ieland's
company sued the commission. but the
county had a change of hear long before
the suit came to trial. -If 19 1 -acre lots is
going to overload the municipal infra-
structure, then they might as well shut
down:' says Wieland.
Johnny Isakson stands before the Buford
Kiwanis Club. This Gwinnett County com-
munity could be mistaken for Pennsylva-
nia's Cranberry Township, with its creeping
strip shopping along the main highway and
mounds of dirt and brush behind the stores.
The minority leader of the Georgia House
of Representatives is trying to muster pub-
lic support for the Governor's Growth
Strategies Commission. which is looking
to define the state's role in planning and
zoning. New Jersey is another state that is
pursuing comprehensive planning, enter-
ing the province of local jurisdictions.
A real estate agent by trade. Isakson
wants to assuage local concern that Georgia
will interfere with home rule. The state, he
says, does not want to repeat the mistakes
of Oregon, where an overreaction to
growth scared away business. At the same
time, he says, some planning is needed.
"It's great to put a 36 -inch [pipe] in your
county to carry the water out, right up to
the time you connect it to the next county
downhill whose pipe is 24 inches. Water is
going to be going the back way because the
24 can't handle the 36. There are areas
where that happens not because of design
but because of the failure of planning be-
yond the [political] boundaries:*
Getting that point across is not easy in
Isakson is tr ing to rally backing for Georgia's Growth Strategies Commission.
a nation w here politicians jealous] guard
their turf. Most regional effims. such as
metropolitan governments. have met with
onr.: limited succes . "That was a dismal
failure parly because of political reasons.
partly because nobod\ really knew howto
run regional governments:' saes Porter.
What seems to work better. he says. are
groups formed after a specific problem is
identified. "That's the alternative to this
grandiose regional agency:'
anta Clara County. Calif.. and
six of its municipalities
formed the Golden Triangle
Task Force principally to al-
leviate traffic congestion.
"We felt if we didn't do
something. the problem was
going to get worse or the public might
decide to put an initiative on the ballot:'
says county Supervisor Dianne McKenna.
The jurisdictions were able to put aside
their differences because "we all shared in
the pain equally. Everyone had a sense that
what everybody else was going to be giving
up within their own jurisdiction was less
than what they would gain by the participa-
tion:' she says. It also helped that the group
had the support of the business community.
Santa Clara. a job -rich county 50 miles
south of San Francisco. must import large
numbers of workers. The plan incorporates
housing incentives and reduces office de-
velopment. It uses a floor area ratio. mean-
ing the square footage of a building is
limited to 35 percent of the lot size.
Not all of the surrounding communities
have been cooperative. "Cupertino re-
sponded that they didn't have a problem:'
McKenna says. "There's not a city in this
county that doesn't have a problem:'
A dozen years ago. Pennsbury Village.
a 46.7 -acre condo community 10 minutes
from downtown Pittsburgh, could not get
the attention of its elected officials in Rob-
inson Township.
Village residents charged that police
visibility was almost nonexistent. the clos-
est fire station at five miles was too far away
for multifamily housing and the roads were
so bad that sections of Carriage Circle, a
road in the community, had to be closed
off. So quickly was Robinson growing.
says resident Kathleen Hays, "they didn't
have the facilities to take care of us:'
A sewage treatment plant brought the
matter to a head. Even though the commu-
nity had its own plant, the township insisted
that Pennsbury Village tie in to the new one
it was building. paving a one-time sur-
charge of $200.000. a tap -in fee of $37,000
and a monthly fee of $30 per condo unit.
On July 4. 1976, when the United States
celebrated its bicentennial. Pennsbury Vil-
lagers held their own celebration. They had
seceded from Robinson Township and
formed a new borough. As one "whereas"
in their newly minted Declaration of Seces-
sion had it. "We as a community can govern
our affairs more effectively and more equi-
tably than a distant and disinterested au-
thorit\:
— Karen Diegmueller
INSIGHT ' MA)' 30. 1988 17
DATE:
TO:
FROM:
SUBJECT
CITY OF PLYMOUTH
3400 PLYMOUTH BLVD., PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447
TELEPHONE (612) 559-2800
MEMO
May 17, 1988
James G. Willis, City Manager
Bob Zitur, Councilmember
LETTER TO ERIC BLANK DATED APRIL 18, 1988 FROM BILL RICHARDSON,
PLAYGROUND CHAIRMAN, AND MARY NORTON, V.P. OAKWOOD P.T.O.
Please inform me how many dollars were spent from the community
playfield, City parks, and trails funds for the parking area at Oakwood
playfield. Also, what was the date?
cc: Mayor and Councilmembers
CITY OF PLYMOUTH
3400 PLYMOUTH BLVD., PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447
TELEPHONE (612) 559-2800
MEMO
DATE: May 2, 1985
TO: James G. Willis, City Manager
FROM: Eric J. Blank, Director of Parks and Recreation
SUBJECT: Oakwood Playfield Parking Lot - Approval to Award Contract
SUMMARY: The attached resolution authorizes the director of Parks and
Recreation to proceed with the development of the parking lot at Oakwood
Playfield, and transfers $50,000 from park dedication funds into construc-
tion funds.
BACKGROUND: Bids were recently received by the City's engineering department
for road construction projects for the summer of 1985. Included in these bids
was the construction of the parking lot at the Oakwood Playfield site. The
bid price received for this project was $45,563. Of this amount, we will be
reimbursed approximately $1,000 by the school district for miscellaneous
work we will do to directly benefit the school playground.
We have previously received authorization to proceed with the project by
the school district once we have determined the actual school district
cost of the project and the final construction drawings. We are now ready
to present these items to the school district staff for approval and to
proceed with the implementation of the project scheduled now for approximately
the second week in June.
RECOMMENDATION: I recommend the City Council authorize the transfer of
$50,000 from the park dedication account to 401 construction account to
be used exclusively for the improvement of the parking lot at the Oakwood
Playfield.
o i
Eric J. Blank, Director
Park and Recreation Dept.
/np
Attachment
CITY OF PLYMOUTH
3400 PLYMOUTH BLVD., PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447
TELEPHONE (612) 559-2800
MEMO
DATE:
May 19, 1988
TO:
James G. Willis, City Manager
FROM:
Bob Zitur, Councilmember
SUBJECT
DOG PROBLEMS IN CHELSEA
I just had my second call this week from two constituents, who don't
wish to have their names revealed, about dogs running loose and
defecating in the neighbors' yards. Please have the CSOs keep an eye on
this problem when they are driving through Chelsea. Maybe it would be a
good idea to send a letter and the dog ordinance to the homeowners
association.
cc: Mayor and Councilmembers
CITY OF PLYMOUTH
3400 PLYMOUTH BLVD., PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447
TELEPHONE (612) 559-2800
MEMO
DATE: May 18, 1988
TO: Mark Peterson, Superintendent of Parks��
�
�.
FROM: Frank Boyles, Assistant City Manager
SUBJECT HERITAGE NEIGHBORHOOD PARK
At the May 16 meeting, Councilmember Zitur expressed concern about
unraveling twine on the glider handle at the Heritage Neighborhood Park.
Would you please check this out for me and let me know your findings,
perhaps by just writing a note at the bottom of this memorandum and
returning it to me by Thursday, May 19. Thanks for your help.
FB:kec
cc: S.F. 5/19/88
James G. Willis, City Manager
loci j i C cwt c t. 4 c
U`- f C7
to Luw: Ll / oc�l� 47L
G
CITY OF PLYMOUTH
3400 PLYMOUTH BLVD., PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447
TELEPHONE (612) 559-2800
MEMO
DATE: May 25, 1988
TO-. Dick Carlquist, Public Safety Directo r
\
FROM: Frank Boyles, Assistant City Manager
SUBJECT CSO'S
At the May 23 City Council staff meeting, Councilmember Zitur asked whether
there was truth in the rumor that one of the five CSO's had been assigned
exclusively to work in the office. Would you respond to this request for
information in writing in order that I can include it in my next information
memorandum.
FB:kec
cc: dames G. Willis, City Manager
S.F. 5/26/88
�� � � J e� �-ems,
DATE:
TO:
QIG
MEMO
CITY OF PLYMOUTH
3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD, PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447
May 24, 1988
Frank Boyles, Assistant City Manager
Glenn Upton, City Weed Inspector
SUBJECT: REPLY TO YOUR MEMO DATED MAY 18, 1988
REGARDING COMPLAINT ON CITY OWNED PARCEL AT
XENIUM LANE AND SUNSET TRAIL
On Thursday May 19, 1988 Tom Vetsch and I made an inspection
of the premises at Xenium Lane and Sunset Trail. The
following conditions were observed:
1. On the lot owned by Equinox Investment, directly west
of Mr. Sentmans property (pin #2) there was rubbish
consisting of a snow fence, siding, ladders, an old
tank, an old bed and miscellaneous debris. The tall
grass and weeds were in excess of 8 inches in height.
I call Steve Barg, CSO, about the rubbish problem, and
sent a weed notice to Equinox Investment. The due
date on the weed notice is June 3, 1988.
2. The triangle shaped lot (pin #4) belongs to us. Tom
and I observed the following: Trucks parked on the
premises. Building materials, cement forms and logs
on the lot. Tom called Hahn Construction Company,
because that was the name on a truck door. He told
them to get the construction materials etc off City
property, by Monday May 23, 1988.
3. On the north side of the City owned triangular lot
there is a lot owned by Carlson Company (pin #3).
This lot has some rubbish on it too. I called Dan
Harrington of Carlson Companies and told him that
there is a rubbish and weed problem on their lot. I
sent a weed notice to Carlson Companies and told Steve
Barg CSO about the rubbish problem. The weed notice
is due on June 3, 1988.
On May 23, 1988 a re -inspection was made by Tom and I. The
trucks and the building materials had been removed from our
lot by the building contractor, Hahn Construction. Our lots
are almost clean enough now to cut the weeds, and we will
probably do it on Wednesday. Tom talked to a neighbor, who
has a camper and an old car on our lot. She will probably get
them off of City property by Wednesday 23, 1988. I feel that
I have the weed portion of this problem under control.
Off: cr
CITY OF PLYMOUTH
3400 PLYMOUTH BLVD., PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447
TELEPHONE (612) 559-2800
MEMO
DATE: May 18, 1988
TO: Glenn Upton and Tom Vetsch
FROM: Frank Boyles, Assistant City ManagerAry
SUBJECT COMPLAINT WITH RESPECT TO CITY -OWNED PARCEL AT XENIUM LANE AND SUNSET
TRAIL
We have received a complaint from dim Sentman, 13510 Sunset Trail. I am
attaching Mayor Schneider's response to Mr. Sentman for your information.
You will note that in his letter, the Mayor indicates that the City Weed
Inspector will inspect the property and the Street Supervisor will review
the property for accumulation of debris and fill materials. Would each of
you perform these respective functions and make arrangements to complete
whatever cleanup efforts are necessary to bring the parcel into a reasonably
maintained condition. You may want to consider a means of minimizing future
filling of the parcel, such as erecting snow fence, etc. Please let me know
once you have conducted your inspection on the actions you intend to take to
clean this parcel. I would appreciate your response by May 25.
FB:kec
attachment
cc: dames G. Willis
S.F. 5/25/88
Z -Z
May 16, 1988
Mr. dames H. Sentman
13510 Sunset Trail
Plymouth, MN 55441
1 ,
CITY C)
PLyNO" UT�-
SUBJECT: PROPERTY VALUATION
Dear Mr. Sentman:
Your May 1, 1988 letter expresses numerous concerns about actions which have
taken place near your property, which in your mind, have affected your
property's valuation.
As you know, the City Council sat as the Board of Review on May 10. We have
asked that the Assessing Department prepare a report with respect to your
property to determine whether it would be appropriate to adjust your
valuation. I am confident that the Assessing Division will make a
recommendation which accurately portrays the current value of your property.
With respect to the activities on the property adjacent to yours, the City
has no right to compel a person to build a new house on the lot. Nor do we
have the right to deny a permit for razing of a building. Accordingly,
since this is the property owner's right, there is no requirement that the
City contact adjacent property owners.
By copy of this letter to our City Weed Inspector and Street Supervisor, I
am asking that they inspect the adjacent properties to assure timely
cleanup. We should be able to provide you with a report on these matters in
the near future.
Your final question had to do with the access to your home. If your street
access is by a private road or -easement, the City does not have the right to
enforce ordinances. If, on the other hand, the access is a public one, then
the City can enforce ordinance provisions. We would not unilaterally
3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD, PLYhIOI1TH, MI NNESOTA 55447. TELEPHONE '512) 559-2800
a
Mr. James H. Sentman
May 16, 1985
Page 2
require vehicles to be removed if they were not in violation of the city
code. By copy of this letter, I am asking Public Safety Director Carlquist
to further respond to your inquiry.
Thank you for your May 1 letter.
Sincerely,
61/5Xdzz--
VI/rgil
Schneider
Mayor
VS:kec
cc: Weed Inspector
Street Supervisor
Public Safety Director
S.F. 5/20/88
_ cen-man
�unse .. Trai l
55441
16-22-34-0001
City Of Plymouth
3400 Plvmouth Boulevard' �{
Attention: City Council
P1ymout!', hSN. 55447
SUBJECT: Unfair Property value and Treatment
Dear Mayor Schneider, and, Councilmembers:
My family and I have resided at the above aodress since 1969, and
have just recently contacted the city assessor tc consider reducing
the 1988 estimated market value of my Property.
BACKGROUND:
in 1986 the property adiacent to mine at 13522 Sunset Trail was
purchased by Equinox Inc. The ne,: ov:ne:s obtained a demolition
permit from the City and proceecet tc raze the existing pioneer
frame home at that address. v.as nct notified by the City that
this action was to occur. The City Euildinc Inspector had great
difficulty in gettinc the contra:.tor to comply t,:itn state law and
city ordinance=_ in regard to ►~ells ani Util]ty disconnection. The
water wells were originally oradec o`:e: and left unsatisfactorily.
The new owners had contacted the City r-?an;ce_ with the intent of
aquiring the City owned out l0t aela',er,t -Lc the North, so multiple
dwellincs could be built on the cep:l-ed parcel. The reaitor of
record continued to searc'n for bli p to suit oopertunities in 1987.
AS or this date, know of no -,e:. c;dine 1, ,T or plans that
have been filed for the parcel in -ins property used to
be well kept and is full of mature t=ees, sr.rubs, and flowers of
every description, and occupied by respcnsicle neignbors.
1. The property is now, not well kept, full cf weeds, construction
debris, and is frequented by unknov:r individuals who have been
digging up flowers and shrugs at all hours of the day and night.
2. The owner of the property at 13522 may not be compelled to
rebuild in a reasonable time frame with comparable construction.
3. The adjacent city owned outlot to the north is being used by HAUN
Construction Co. to park Trucks & equipment and to store materials.
Access to the property is via my only street access road to the east.
4. This winter Plymouth Police would not honor my complaints:to clear
or unblock unauthorized vehicles parked on my street access road
and driveway entrance to the east. Response was " You don't own
it, so you can't control it". It will cost additional money and
much replanning to gain controlled access to public streets•on
my own land.
5. The Hennepin County Tax statement shoves my parcel at .53 acres'
and my legal description area calculates tg .49 acres. The error
in square feet is larger than the area of my dwelling.
6. I have been financially unable tc maintain my existino home and
property in a market ready ci-;Z_tion.
continued
wouic seer, tc me t~at :h de.o.i _o _. r-„�s ar issued in a well
esLabIishec e>isLir-1g esice^a- a_ea, t _r&nc_al and other
environmental impacts are - _eal_ty, sL an iMagined complaint.
�c a c e n t proper y ov.,ners sncL;_c c no ; it advance of razing and
that some re2sona.Die perio.~•an�-e in order to-
- I'l i n i m., i z e
o--I'linimize imP&cL to ad laden -,y C,, nerd
-Insure that all local and sty_--_ l.v:sare complied with in a timely fash_
-Secure statement of usage intent and structural replacement schedule
-Reasonably preserve surrounding property values and rights of others
-Etc.
in my case these objectives co not appear to have been fulfilled as
a preplanned course of action. It does not seem fair or just that
home/property owners should suffer as a��result of an independant act
sponsored by city government when it is not a matter for eminent domain.
I am certain that none of you would like to have similar events take
place next to your homes, and that a more community -orientated solution
can be found for this type of probler-
1 would really welcome and aDpreciate an`.assistance the the Council
could offer to remedv or cocisinate a `usi and Limely solution, to
what I consider a ready un.___ Ce. 'ase respond as soon as
possible
Sincerely fours,
James H. Sentmar,
CC: City Assessor
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CITY OF PLYMOUTH
3400 PLYMOUTH BLVD., PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447
TELEPHONE (612) 559-2800
May 20, 1988 MEMO
DATE:
Community Services Officers throughSer nt Larry Rogers
TO:
Frank Boyles, Assistant City Manager
FROM:
RESIDENT COMPLAINT
SUBJECT
I have received a telehone call from Mr. David Maul at 475-4238. He states
that his neighbor, David Schumacher at 535 Harbor Lane, has a number of
Items in his backyard that constitute junk, trash or garbage.
I. Four vehicles with no license or with expired licenses.
2. Two trailers with expired licenses.
3. A pile of pallets that constitute a fire hazard.
4. A shed in poor repair, doors and windows broken, constituting an
attractive nuisance.
I would appreciate it if the CSO's would investigate this complaint to
confirm its accuracy and follow-up as necessary with the property owner.
Please protect the confidentiality of the complainant's name, but share your
findings with the complainant and with me as well. Thanks for your help.
FB:ke
cc: S.F. 5/28/88
PLYMOUTH POLICE DEPARTMENT
MESS KEY
CONTROL NUMBER (OCA) CONT. AGENCY NCIC IDENT
CAG
I
DATE/TIME REPORT MADE
E, C, I
/�
81 8 0, 0 , i %�
M, N
0, 2, 7
1, 7
1 0, 0 /
(
05/25/88 2229
LNBR DATE
REPORTED JRPDj TIME RPD TRP LOCATION GRID NBA (LGN)
PLACE COMMITTED IP.
/
��
5
2�5 8 / 1 7 0 10 /1
13 3 j / /
525 Harbor Ln
O LNBR HRD SQUAD OR BADGE x (SBN) TIME ASIG. (TAS) TIME ARR. (TAR) TIME CLR. (TCL) HRD Codes
T F/ F/ 6 2 / 1 7 0 0 / 1 7 1 6 / 1 7 3 6 / P- Phone
R - Radio
A - Alarm
LNBR ISN UOC UCS
® / /
LNBR ISN UOC UCS
/ / I I I I /I
OFFICER ASSIGNED
Phillips
ASSISTED BY
SUPR. APPROVED
_
DETECTIVE ASSIGNED
I - In Person
V - Visual
M - Mail
T - Other
OFFENSE[:] OR INITIAL COMPLAINT[:] DATE & TIME OCCURRED
Public Nuisance
VICTIM (IF FIRM, NAME OF FIRM & NAME OF PROP.) BUSINESS ADDRESS BUSINESS PHONE
HOME ADDRESS
HOME PHONE
City of Plymouth
IF VICTIM IS
D.O.B. OCCUPATION SCHOOL GRADE PARENT'S NAMES
IF i
A PERSON JUVENILE
PERSON REPORTING OFFENSE TO POLICE BUSINESS ADDRESS BUSINESS PHONE
Frank Boyles - Ply Asst City Manager
FINDINGS, DISPOSITION OR LOSS
PROPERTY OWNER:
David Donald Schumacher
DOB: W 12/30/48
Address: 525 Harbor Ln
DESCRIPTION OF NUISANCE:
HOME ADDRESS
HOMEPHONE
1. Blue Plymouth Horizon License ELJ629, expired tabs
2. Maroon Camaro, license NIN524, expired tabs
3. One flatbed Snowmobile trailer, no liences plate
4. Yellow shed w/broken doors and windows considered as an attractive
nuisance to complainant
This evening I stopped by the Schumacher residence to investigate public nuisance complaint
of 4 vehicles observed in the backyard, only the two vehicles mentioned above appeared to
be in violation of City Ordinance. Additionally the flatbed trailer was also in violation
as it appeared to have no license. Mr. Schumacher stated that he would comply with Plymout
City Ordinance within the next 10 days by registering the vehicles or placing them in a
garage.
The large shed/garage located in the backyard of the above address appears to be deteriorat
somMat, i.e. broken windows and doors and general structural deterioration. A copy of thi
OR should be forwarded to the Building division for an inspection. There is a large pile
of wooden pallets located next to the shed, but the resident claims that these are being
used for hauling sod and for other purposes. Mr. Schumacher was advised that he could keep
the pallets if they were stacked and the area was cleaned up. A copy of the City Ordinance
and followup letter was sent to Mr. Schumacher regarding the -above nuisance violations.
UC5 UI5t1USI I IUryjq-rjrr - tiI11 1
P U -Unfounded ❑ A -CLRD/Arrest Adult ❑ A - Asslst;Advis
FRED CJ RS BY:
G - GOA / UTL ❑
C - Exc. / CLRD. ❑ J - CLRD/Arrest Juv. ❑ R - Ref. Oth. Agency ❑ O • Other ❑
PERSONS ARRESTED - SUSPECTS - WITNESSES & ADDITIONAL DETAILED REPORT ON CONTINUATION SHEET
0f
J
_ a e Grove
9401 Fernbrook Lane, Maple Grove, Minnesota 55369-9790
May 18, 1988
,�D1
Mr. Dick Pouliq�a"
Plymouth Recycling Office
3400 Plymouth Blvd.
Plymouth, MN 55447
Dear Ms. Pouliot:
612-420-4000
On behalf of the Maple Grove Long Range Improvement Committee and the City of
Maple Grove, I want to thank you for your recycling presentation. Your
willingness to share your expertise in this area was appreciated and I am sure
will greater benefit Maple Grove's recycling efforts.
We apologize for the late start of the meeting and the short period of time we
had to discuss recycling. We hope that this did not inconvenience you. With
continued efforts by our sub -committee and the support of recycling leaders,
such as yourself, we hope to reach our recycling goals.
Thank you again for sharing your time and knowledge, it was appreciated.
NMO/sss
Sincerely,
Nancy Marten -Oehler
Administrative Intern
"Serving Today, Shaping Tomorrow"
James Dcanc David Burtness Charles f Dchn Donald J. Kantsuid Donna Rvon Douglas S. Reeder
uunc'ilnx mhcr (:ouncilnu-mhcr Glum ilnx'mhcr mile. nxmhcr (:in Admini,tr:uur
CD u
NURSER YJ LANDSCAPING
COMPANY
May 23, 1988
City of Plymouth
Fire Department
3400 Plymouth Blvd.
Plymouth, MN 55447
16800 HIGHWAY 55 • PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55446
559-4004
Attention: Chief, Assistant Chief and Investigators
Dear Sirs:
The people at Dundee want to express their thanks to all the people from
your Department for their efforts to keep the fire loss at our facilities
to a minimum. We are especially thankful that all the plant material and
other items stored outside the building were saved. Your prompt notification
of other government bodies made the cleanup process as easy as could be
expected under existing conditions.
Through your efforts and that of other Departments, the jobs of many people
in the coummunity have been saved.
The outdoor merchandise was available as soon as 1 P.M. on the day of the
fire. It will take a few months before we are able to resume 100% of our
activities, but your efforts have made it possible to approach normal
activity much sooner than anyone expected.
Thanks again for yur help.
Sincerely,
Jerr T is and All the People at Dundee
Y P
GWT:id
GARDEN CENTER
PLYMOUTH • 16800 HVVY. 55 • 559-4016
SAVAGE • 4225 COUNTY RD. 42 • 894.8740
Niinfie sot a
State Board of Vocational
Technical Education
( dpitol Squme 131(1:;.
550 Ce(im Street
St. Paul, MN 55101
May 19, 1988
}
Chief Lyle Robinson
g Plymouth Fire Department
3400 Plymouth Boulevard
Plymouth, Minnesota 55447
Dear Chief Robinson:
' Thank you for assisting us during the 1988 Minnesota State
Y=,x Fire School. Your contributions of personnel, time, and
' equipment were essential to the success of this annual
event.
The instructors, coordinators, and myself are keenly aware
�XT
r that the support received from the City of Plymouth were
° invaluable. Your assistance has been an integral part of
the ongoing training which is so critical to the fire
3y3y....; service and to the safety of our citizens.
$k'
If the Fire Information, Research & Education (FIRE)
Center can assist you in any way in meeting your needs for
the future, please do not hesitate to call us at 296-6516.
And again, thank you for your cooperation.
Sincerely,
Adam D. Piskura, State Director of Fire Training
Fire Information Research & Education (FIRE) Center
Minnesota Technical Institute System
Capitol Square Building
Y
550 Cedar Street
St. Paul, Minnesota 55101
(612) 296-6516
An Equal Opportunity Employer
�µ
;b
CITYC)�
May 24, 1988 ' `YMvv' I
Mr-. Dennis Johnson
Conservation Of f icer
Department of Natural Resources
11116 Yates Avenue North
Champlin, MN 55316
Mr. Jim Konrad
Conservation Officer
Department of Natural Resources
16330 - 22nd Avenue North
Plymouth, M.w 55447
Gentlemen:
SUBJECT: CARP SPEARING IN BASSETT CREEK
I have received a complaint from Mr. Dean Dalin, 10406 South Shore Drive,
telephone number 545-7996. Mr. Dalin states that annually, spearing occurs
In the Bassett Creek, exiting from Medicine Lane immediately adjacent to his
house. The problem is that carp are speared but not removed from the
creek. This year he states that some 200 dead carp were left to rot in the
creek. Obviously this is not a pleasant situation for Mr. Dalin.
lie ,e riginal ly asked whether the City -or the DW coul-d el-esan up the mess. I
have indicated that this is the private property owner's responsibility. Re
asked what steps might be taken next year to eliminate this problem. I
suggested that the Plymouth Police Department work together with each of you
to assure a quick response when Mr. Dalin called in a violation.
Mr. Konrad has suggested that Mr. Dalin and other property owners install
"no trespassing" signs at all privately owned points of entry to the creek.
This action could improve enforcement efforts. Signs must have minimums 2"
letters, be posted every 1,000 feet and contain the signature of the
property owner.
3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD, PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447, TELEPHONE (612) 559-2800
Mr. Dennis Johnson
Mr. Jim Konrad
May 24, 1988
Page 2
By carbon copy of this letter, I am asking Mr. Dalin to either call the
Plymouth Police Department at 544-9511, or Dennis Johnson at 424-8714, or
Jia Konrad at 476-8736 if there is a problem.
Thank you for yAur cooperation.
f
Frank lea
Assistant City Manager
FB:kec
cc: James C. Willis, City Manager
Dick Carlquist, Public Safety Director
Dean Dalin
May 19. 1988
Mr. John H. Davis
3630 Everareen Lane
Plymouth. Minnesota 55441
F
f
F
I
` CITY Or
PUMOUTR
SUBJECT: RESPONSE TO NEW ALARM ORDINANCE CONCERNS
Dear Mr. Davis:
Thank you for taking the time to write a letter concerning your viewpoint
relative to the new alarm ordinance. I must say that it was very well thought
out and nicely organized.
I will address the concerns you raise point -by -point in order to facilitate for
you and other readers the underlying reasons:
1. ALARM DECISION-MAKING: The scenario that you describe is a
rare one indeed. However, I am aware that it has happened to
you. Since you have had time to think about the appropriate
decision to make, I would hope that you would error on the
side of your life! In short, if you are home and tucked away
in bed, and the alarm goes off, reach over to your phone and
call us. If the response is to your phone call, there is no
charge. Otherwise. it could be up to $200 -- still better
than your life!
2. DISCRIMINATION: There is a difference in my opinion between
an electronically generated false alarm and one involving
human perceptions that turn out to be false. We encourage
people to call when they see or hear suspicious things. We
also encourage people to have alarms. But the latter one
carries with it an enhancement to the human perception that
is part and parcel of our current service call load. By
opting for an electronic system, you have changed the normal
relationship in the equation for police service demand.
3. "911" EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBER: Through our Crime Prevention
programs, the Plymouth Police Department has stressed the use
of the 911 emergency number -- call if you need a "cop". It
doesn't have to be an emergency; just the need to have a
response. For your information, the 911 system installed in
Hennepin County is an enhanced one. Persons who had called
the police in the past to send squad cars to erroneous calls
are no longer able to do this with ease. The automatic
location identifier which is signalled on all 911 calls has
virtually eliminated those persons who played mischief in the
past with the police dispatching center.
3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD. PLYMOUTH. MINNESOTA 55447. TELEPHONE (612) 559-2800
Mr. John H. Davis
May 19. 1988
Page Two
4. COST OF POLICE SERVICE: You indicate in your letter that we
will be double -charging residents who install security
systems because you already pay for this service through your
taxes. You also indicated that statistics will show that
criminals generally stay away from homes with good security
systems installed. To the latter point, I agree. To the
former, I disagree. Let's suppose that all 15,000 dwelling
units in the City of Plymouth have alarm systems. And,
further, that we allow each one of these residents and their
systems to generate three false alarms in a calendar year.
That is 45,000 false alarms!
At an average time spent of 20 minutes per call on false
alarms, multiplied times the two personnel that respond, we
have a total of 40 minutes tied up for each one of these
false alarms. This means a total of 30,000 hours a year
would be spent by personnel just responding to false alarms.
That equates to approximately 17 police officers whose sole
duty would be responding to false alarms. In bottom line
figures, that would mean approximately $800,000 would be
spent on alarm responses.
Some of the questions and statements that you raise indicate to me that you have
either, 1) not obtained a copy of the ordinance;, or, 2) you have not read it
carefully. There are provisions in the ordinance that would allow for installing
and testing of new equipment if the Public Safety Director and central monitoring
agency for the alarm system have been notified in advance. Also, power outages
or climatic conditions that fall under the "acts of God" would not be counted as
a false alarm.
In closing, let me reiterate -- we do encourage security systems -- good security
systems.
Sincerely,
Richard
4 J. Ca Quist
Public Safety Director
RJC•gs
cc: James G. Willis - City Manager
Ms. Karla Lewis - Westec Security
May 17, 1988
Mr. Darrel Anderson
Community Relations Officer
Plymouth Police Department
3400 Plymouth Blvd.
Plymouth, MN 55447
Dear Mr. Anderson:
About one month ago, I spoke to you on the phone concerning
the new Plymouth City Ordinance covering residential alarm
systems effective for 1989. At the time, I indicated a couple
of reasons why I felt this was a bad ordinance as related to
penalties for false alarms. You indicated that my points were
well made and that you would discuss them with the Chief of
Police.
I may have misunderstood, but I also thought you indicated
there would be a Council meeting on Tuesday, May 17, to
discuss this and other issues. I marked my calendar
accordingly with the intention of attending. Yesterday, I
called the city to confirm the time for the council meeting
and was informed that it would be held that evening; nothing
was scheduled for today that anyone knew about. I talked to
three different people (you were out) and no one seemed to
know much about a meeting on alarm systems. Unfortunately, I
was unable to attend last night's meeting due to a conflicting
meeting elsewhere.
In order to make sure my points concerning the ordinance are
clearly understood, I thought this letter would better
document my thoughts for appropriate consideration by the
Folice Department and the City Council:
1. A.1 -arm Decision-making -- The Plymouth ordinance appears
to burden alarm -owning residents with an additional
worry in the event of an activated alarm of unknown
cause. The frightened resident would have to make a
quick decision as follows:
a. Assume that alarm is false and abort it. If alarm is
real, then residents lose property and possibly their
lives to the intruder.
b. Assume alarm is real and let police come. If alarm
is false, then customer loses $50 or more to the
city.
I do not, believe that this is the type of decision-
making that should be going on during a potential threat
to property and life. Most rational people will abort
false alarms when they know for sure that it's false and
assuming they know hog: to abort it.
-2 -
Now I have to ask myself, which criminal do I protect
myself from, the intruder or the City of Plymouth? Both
seem to be after my property. Is this ordinance really
promoting safety/security in the community?
. pscr.m._n_atio.n -- Apparently, Plymouth proposes to
t discriminate between electronically generated false
alarms and manual false alarms. What is the penalty for
a resident who calls the police directly in the belief
that a threat exists which later turns out to be false?
It's my understanding that there is no penalty. What is
the difference between false alarms generated
electronically through an agent (alarm monitoring
service) or a direct call from a homeowner/resident? I
don't believe there is a difference. A false alarm is a
false alarm no matter how it is generated.
Therefore, in terms of passing laws under the
constitutional concepts of equal justice for all, it
would seem appropriate that equal penalties be applied
for Al.l false alarms no matter how they are generated.
3. "911.......... . Emergency ,.Phone....Numbe,r -- Most of the promotional
material I've heard and read concerning use of the "911"
emergency number is to err on the side of conservatism,
i.e., dial the number and play it safe, even if it's
later proven to be false or inappropriate. The national
program responsible for "911" service seems to have an
entirely different philosophy than the City of Plymouth.
"911" administrators have publicly expressed their
concern about residents being reluctant to use the
emergency number for fear it may not be an "appropriate"
emergency. I'm not aware of any penalties being imposed
for false alarms to the "911" number, certainly not on
the initial false alarm. Plymouth wants to rap your
knuckles with a fine, even if you make one mistake (one
false alarm). Is this tactic good for the community?
Does it promote good community relations and a sense of
well-being?
Cost„__,of_,...Pol iceSer.vi_ce -- Plymouth is proposing to
double -charge some residents (security system owners)
for police service that has already been paid for
through taxes. Security system users will "pay by the
drink” as well as by an allocated tax system. Again,
this is discriminatory and unfair.
-3-
I believe statistics will show that criminals generally
stay away from homes with good security systems
installed. More security systems mean less crime. Less
crime means lower costs for police service and a reduced
workload on existing police personnel. Less crime also
makes a community a safer and healthier place to live,
and encourages new residents and businesses which
provides a broader/deeper tax base. Everyone benefits'
Plymouth seems to be taking the approach that electronic
security systems are bad for the community.
In summary, I believe the City of Plymouth should do
everything possible to encourage the installation and use of
home security systems, even a reduction in taxes for those
installing such a system would be welcome and appropriate.
Insurance companies already see the light and have reduced
their homeowner's insurance premiums for those having such
systems.
I am not proposing that false alarms be ignored, but I believe
they should be monitored only for individual abusers. In
other words, there should be an allowance for people trying to
adjust to a new security system and for those perceiving a
threat, whether real or not. There should also be allowances
for actions beyond a resident's control, e.g., power
surges/outages or acts of God (thunderstorms, etc.). When
people cause false alarms through irresponsible acts, improper
maintenan e or bad attitudes, then a penalty should be
IE veled. At a minimum, each resident should be allowed at
least three false alarms per year before any penalty is
imposed. / Z
I hope that due consideration will be given to these comments.
I like most things in this city and find it to be very
progressive. Let's not kill the goose (security system) that
lays the golden eggs. Thank you for your consideration in
this matter.
Sincerely yours,
John H. Davis
3630 Evergreen Lane
Plymouth, MN 55441
JHD/jd
Copy:
Mayor Virgil Schneider - City of Plymouth
Ms. Carla Lewis - Westec Security
Judge Peter J. Lindberg
Chief Judge
Hennepin County District Court
1959 Government Center
Minneapolis, MN 55487
SUBJECT: RELOCATION OF MISDEMEANOR JURY TRIALS TO DOWNTOWN
Dear Judge Lindberg:
I am embarrassed to say that I am responsible for an error contained in
Mayor Virgil Schneider's May 16, 1988 letter to you. In the letter he
indicates that Plymouth is involved in approximately 150 jury trials each
year. I find in reality that only four jury trials actually occurred during
the last year.
While this substantially reduces the number of additional non-productive
hours which the relocation of misdemeanor jury trials to downtown would
Involve, we nonetheless continue to oppose this move because:
I. Commuter trips from the suburbs to downtown will increase.
2. Convenience to suburban residents and municipalities will be
undermined.
Sincered';
Frank yles
Assistant City Manager
FB:kec
cc: Virgil Schneider, Mayor
Jim Thomson, City Attorney
Dick Carlquist, Public Safety Director
3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD, PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447, TELEPHONE (612) 559-2800
May 16, 1988
Judge Peter J. Lindberg PLYMOUT�-
Chief Judge
Hennepin County District Court
1959 Government Center
Minneapolis, MN 55487
SUBJECT: RELOCATION OF MISDEMEANOR JURY TRIALS TO DOWNTOWN
Your Honor:
On June 6, you will be considering whether or not misdemeanor jury trials
should be relocated to Hennepin County Government Center from the various
satellite centers. We understand that this move is intended as a cost
saving measure, resulting from the recent Court of Appeals decision holding
that misdemeanor defendants are entitled to a jury trial.
The City of Plymouth strongly opposes the relocation proposal. The City is
involved in approximately 150 jury trials each year. This number is likely
to increase with the recent Court of Appeals decision. On the average, 1.3
officers is involved in each jury trial. Presently, a 20 minute travel time
is required each way to and from the Ridgedale -facility from City offices.
If jury trials were undertaken downtown, the transportation time would be at
least 40 minutes each way, including parking. Consequently, 40 additional
nonproductive minutes would occur as a result of each trial. This amounts
to a minimum of 130 additional nonproductive hours each year.
When court trials were originally relocated from downtown to satellite
suburban sites, the rationale was to:
1. Reduce the commuter trips and associated traffic congestion.
2. Enhance convenience to suburban residents and municipalities.
The current relocation proposal is a step backward from the above
philosophy. It will result in additional costs to suburban Hennepin County
residents and municipalities and will further exacerbate traffic congestion.
I urge you to reject the relocation proposal in favor of the status quo.
Sincerely,
4V/-gi
Schneider
Mayor
VS:kec
3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD, PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA. 55447, TELEPHONE (612) 559-2800
2000 First Bank Place West
Minneapolis
Minnesota 55402
Telephone (612) 333-0543
Telecopier (612) 333-0540
Clayton L. LeFevere
Herbert P. Lefler
J. Dennis O'Brien
John E. Drawz
David J. Kennedy
Joseph E. Hamilton
John B. Dean
Glenn E. Purdue
Richard J. Schieffer
Charles L. LeFevere
Herbert P. Lefler III
James J. Thomson, Jr.
Thomas R. Galt
Dayle Nolan
John G. Kressel
Steven B. Schmidt
James M. Strommen
Ronald H. Batty
William P. Jordan
William R. Skallerud
Rodney D. Anderson
Corrine A. Heine
David D. Beaudoin
Steven M. Tallen
Mary Frances Skala
Christopher J. Harristhal
Timothy J. Pawlenty
Rolf A. Sponheim
Julie A. Bergh
Darcy L. Hitesman
David C. Roland
Karen A. Chamerlik
Paul D. Baertschi
LeFevere
Lef ler
Kennedy
O'Brien
Drawz
I'mlt—iunal
a"m ial ion l
May 12, 1988
Mr. James Willis
City of Plymouth
3400 Plymouth Boulevard
Plymouth, MN 55447
Re: Misdemeanor Jury Trials in Suburban Courts
Dear Jim:
On May 10, 1988 the Executive Committee of the Hennepin
County District Court adopted a recommendation to move
all misdemeanor jury trials from the suburban divisions
to the the Hennepin County Government Center. This
recommendation will be presented to the entire panel of
Judges at its June 6, 1988 meeting. The recommendation
was prompted in part by the recent Court of Appeals
decision holding that misdemeanor defendants are entitled
to a jury of 12 persons.
I have been informed that several suburban communities
intend to strongly oppose the Executive Committee's
recommendation. If you are interested in making the City
of Plymouth's position known on this matter, you could
write either Judge Peter J. Lindberg, Chief Judge, or any
other member of the Hennepin County District Court.
If you would like any further assistance in this matter,
please let me know.
Sincerely yours,
LeFEVERE, LEFLER, KENNEDY,
O'BRIEN & DRAWZ
mes J. Thomson, Jr.
0066LTO1.I34
Enclosure
cc: Dick Carlquist
Steve Tallen
MAY
5800 85th AVENUE NORTH / BROOKLYN PARD, MN. 55443 / 612-424-8000
May 19, 1988
James Willis, City Manager
City of Plymouth
3400 Plymouth Blvd.
Plymouth, MN 55447
Subject: Prosecution - Suburban Court
Dear James:
Enclosed is a letter from Brooklyn Park's Prosecuter Roger
Fellows, to Hennepin County Judge Pamela Alexander objecting to
an Executive Committee resolution which attempts to set and try
all suburban jury trials at the downtown Hennepin County
Government Center. Brooklyn Park feels this change will
adversely affect the City and the operation of its Police
Department.
We would like your city's support in the form of letters and
resolutions going to the court objecting to this issue. The idea
of keeping the courts close to the people is something that has
been promised to the suburban communities and should be retained.
Sincerely, 1/
Charles Darth, Director
Intergovernmental Relations
enclosures
cc: John Derus, Commissioner
.. LAW OrrICES
WORST, PEARSON, LARSON, UNDERWOOD & M ERTZ
A PAgTMr116M,► INCIND,MO PAO►[sSIONA, AftgpC,,AT,OM•
1100 FIRST *ANK PLACE WEST
A. TMONAS WUR6T. P.A. MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA ss4O2
CURTIs A. PEARSON. P.A.
JAMcs D. LARsoN. P.A.
TMOMAs F. UNOERWOOD. P.A. May 11, 1988
CRAIG M. MERTZ
RoatR J. FELLOWS
Honorable Pamela Alexander
Hennepin County Government Center
Minneapolis, MN 55487
Dear Judge Alexander:
TELErh10N[
(Sir) 33e•4r00
rA% NL)RADVR
ISM) 336•r626
It has recently come to my attention that the Executive Committee
of the Hennepin County District Judges has passed a resolution to the effect
that all jury trials now scheduled for suburban courtrooms would be either
set or tried at the Hennepin County Government Center. It is to that
resolution passed by your Committee that I address this letter.
As prosecutor for the City of Brooklyn Park, I wish it to be known in
no uncertain terms that I strongly object to any proposal to systematically
try cases at the Hennepin County Government Center rather than the
facilities of -.the suburban courtrooms. The community I represent passed a
resolution in 1978 helping to establish a regional courthouse with the
promise that the Brooklyn Park matters would be tried in that facility. To
my understanding, their resolve has not lessened, and it certainly is not
economical or practical to expect the City of Brooklyn Park to try cases in
downtown Minneapolis. The Legislature itself, when it passed Minn. Stats.
488A.01, Subd. 9, was quite clear that the regional courthouses were to be
full service facilities.
The impact of the proposal of the Executive Committee is quite
clear on suburbs such as Brooklyn Park. In addition to increased costs for
prosecution, let alone horrendous scheduling problems for those
municipalities who only have one prosecutor to represent them on both
arraignments and jury trials, such a proposal as your Committee has adopted
would have unfortunate results to the suburbs. First, most police
departments now are required to pay their officers on stand-by or have them
present in any jury trial setting. To require the officers to appear at a
downtown location rather than in the suburbs would require extra expense in
terms of extra overtime pay, extra on -duty pay, lost man hours on the
street, and the attendant problems of traveling to and from downtown
Minneapolis and in parking there. In addition, the witnesses who are not
police officers are predominately from the communities in which the crimes
are charged. Their place of residence or their place of business is most
often in the same geographic area as the regional courthouse. To require
these witnesses to appear in a downtown location for trials requiring one or
two hour Is testimony from each witness would be a severe inconvenience for
WORST, PEARSON, LARSON, UNDERWOOD b MERTZ
those individuals whom the State needs to call, as well as those whom the
dant may wish to call.
defen
believe
City of
or set
Unless the Brooklyn Park City Council instructs me otherwise, I
it is my responsibility to make it clear to your Committee that the
Brooklyn Park does not and will not support any move to routinely try
jury trial cases in downtown Minneapolis.
As a matter of record, it should be pointed out that the Division
Two Courthouse, where Brooklyn Park is located, has achieved an unparalled
efficiency in the scheduling of jury trials and their efficient
disposition. At the present time, it probably takes only eight weeks from
the time of arraignment to the time of trial. On the occasions where trial
is necessary, it is quite often that the trial can be had on the day on which
it is originally scheduled. On those rare occasions where a Judge is not
available in the suburban courthouse because of a prior trial commitment, a
rescheduled jury trial can usually be obtained within two to three weeks of
the original trial date. As an interesting aside to that, it should be
pointed out that when jurors are chosen for jury duty in suburban
courtrooms, the jurors themselves express a preference to drive themselves
to a divisional courthouse rather than to drive downtown to be transported
back and forth in the jury van. I think you will find that the majority of
jurors would prefer to serve in the suburban courtrooms rather than suffer
the inconvenience of reporting to the Hennepin County Government Center for
trial.
As I indicated before, it is
will oppose any efforts to routinely
have them tried at the Division Two
RJF:lh
the position of this office that we
schedule trials downtown rather than
Courthouse.
Sincerely,
Roger J. Fellows
Prosecutor for the
City of Brooklyn Park
1100 First Bank Place West
Minneapolis, MN 55402
Same Letter To:
Chief Judge Peter J. Lindberg (copy
Honorable Robert G. Schifflebein
Honorable Melvin J. Peterson
Honorable Allen Oleisky
Honorable Ann Montgomery
Honorable Jonathan Lebedoff
Honorable Kenneth J. Gill
Honorable David M. Duffy
Honorable Michael Davis
Honorable Kevin Burke
—� ►..a C—
to Jack Provo, Court Admin.)
City of rNobbfii5bare
POLICE DEPARTMENT
4145 HUE1 BARD AVENUE NORTH
ROBBINSDALE. MINNESOTA 55422
TELEPHONE 537-4554
May 11, 1988
Judge Peter J. Lindberg
C-1959 Government Center
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55487-0239
Dear Judge Lindberg:
I have very rarely taken a position regarding the operation of
the Hennepin County Court system, but I feel that I must
regarding the utilization of the suburban court system. It is my
understanding that the Hennepin County District Court Judges have
decided to hold all jury trials at the Government Center in
downtown Minneapolis beginning June 1, 1988. No jury trials will
be scheduled in the three suburban court facilities. I am
opposed to the new procedure.
The new procedure will impact the suburban law enforcement
agencies in several negative ways.
- Increased expenses due to parking, lunches, and overtime.
- Increased witness expenses due to more travel and parking
reimbursements.
- Loss of more time for Officers assigned to trials on days off
or shifts other than day shift.
- Reduced manpower on the etreet for day shifts when travel time
is increased for trial.
- $lower response by on -duty Police personnel to testify.
- Increased witness inconvenience because most suburban witnesses
live near suburban courts.
- Increased legal fees for some municipalities whose attorneys
must travel downtown or have attorneys in two locations at the
same time.
I admit that I am not sure of the exact reasons for the change in
procedure. Maybe the reasons are sound, but the impact on over
two-thirds of Hennepin County's population is also negative and
their needs should be addressed.
Please reconsider your decision and allow the suburban court
facilities to be full service courts fur non -felony cases.
Sincerely,
John W. S etch
Chief of Police
JWS/pb
cc: Walter R. Fehst, City Manager
John Dean, City Attorney
Mav 18. 1988
Steve and Suzi Gerber
2730 Norwood Lane
Plymouth. Minnesota 55441
SUBJECT: LETTER OF APOLOGY
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Gerber:
r
' I
E
` . CITY Or'-'
PLYKIOUTR
I apologize for any anxiety that was caused by our mistakenly believing that you
owned a doa that was causina a nuisance.
As I was out of town the latter part of last week, I did not see your letter
until this week; thus, the reason for my delay in responding to you!
In order to be as efficient as possible, we have resorted to using form letters
when responding to telephone complaints on certain types of calls. In the
majority of the barking doa call complaints, this procedure has been proven to be
an effective use of manpower. If we were to foIIowup on each and every minor
complaint to its fullest, we would certainly need more manpower. And, more taxes
for our residents to pay!
I do not wish to leave you with the thouaht that there is an acceptable error
tolerance on this Department. The letter that you erroneously received was
definitely the exception and not the rule. I appreciate you bringing this matter
to my attention; and, again apologize for our actions.
Sincerely,
Rich
q-4—C�
hard J. Zarlouis
Public Safety Director
RJC•q_s
cc: James G. Willis - City Manager
May 6, 1988
City of Plymouth
3400 Plymouth Blvd
Plymouth Mn 55447
Attn: Richard J Carlquist
Director of Public Safety
Dear Mr Carlquist:
Steve and Suzi Gerber
2730 Norwood Lane
Plymouth Mn 55441
Enclosed is a copy of the letter sent to us, aclUressed ds
"resident", written under your name. We want to thank you
for enlightening us on the city ordinance regarding dogs.
In the event that we choose to own a dog, it will be most useful.
Our house is surrounded by dogs, on either side, in back of
us, kiddy corner, and two and three doors down. While dogs
do pass by, occassionally choosing to rest their weary paws
and deficate on our lawn, none has chosen to adopt our home
as a permanent residence.
Therefore, whoever filed a complaint against us must be aware of
something that we, as residents, are unaware of. Obviously,
these concerned neighbors do not know us nor care to make our
acquaintences.
Though we can understand a person's concern, we are a bit
perturbed as to why we were chosen above all our neighbors
for having the noisy dog. The closest we can come to
a noisy dog is a crying 10 month old baby. Is it possible
that our concerned neighbor is unable to differentiate
between a bark and a cry?
I would like to recommend that you personally contact the
concerned neighbor and inform him/her that we have not,do not,
and never will have a dog.
Public Safety employee #763 who sent us the complaint obviously
did not do his homework thoroughly. Why didn't Public Safety
employee #763 investigate the complaint prior to sending us
the letter? Receiving this letter has caused concern and
consternation among the residents of this household.
We would appreciate a written apology from you or Public Safety
employee #763 within the next ten days? This will help
restore our faith in the management of our city government.
A copy of this letter is being sent to the mayor and our city
councilman for their information.�
Pi; a.
u
{ �.rarJL�I
Sincerely,
CITY OF
Date PLYMOUTH+
Dear Resident.
It has been brought to our attention that your dog is causing
some disturbance in your general neighborhood.
Barking
( ) Running at Large
A copy of the city ordinance relating to the regulation of dogs
is enclosed.
Please be considerate of your neighbors in regards to this specific
problem.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
n
Richard J. Earlouist
Direc it of! Public Sa
CkA
Encl oshre (1)
3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD, PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447, TELEPHONE (612) 559-2800
Mr. Gerald W. Theis
Secretary Treasurer
Dundee Nursery
16800 Highway 55
Plymouth, MN 55446
Dear Mr. Theis:
Thank you for your letter of May 20.
As I noted to you during your brief appearance at the Plymouth Forum on
May 16, we want to work closely with you as you plan to rebuild after your
recent fire. Blair Tremere, the City's Director of Planning and Community
Development, will be responding to your request for clarification as to the
requirements of the City's zoning code as it applies to your business. The
community development staff and City Attorney are keenly familiar with the
City's zoning ordinance and policies and will work with you to expedite the
proper response to your request.
The City code does specify certain procedural steps which must be followed.
These steps will also be fully explained to you. It is our hope that you
will be able to promptly complete the planning process in order that you can
be under construction as soon as possible.
Yours truly,
Vi gill'Schneider
Mayor
VS:kec
cc: City Council
dames G. Willis, City Manager
Blair Tremere, Director of Planning & Community Development
3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD, PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447, TELEPHONE (612) 559-2800
—E
CDul s
dwow
NURSERY t LANDSCAPING 16800 HIGHWAY 55 • PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55446
COMPANY 559-4004
May 20, 1988
The Honorable Virgil Schneider,
Mayor City of Plymouth
11520 54th Ave North
Plymouth, MN 55442
Dear Mayor:
We seek clarification of our status under the present zoning as it applies
to Dundee Nursery.
Plymouth Zoning Ordinance Section 7, Subdivision C:
Item 10 - Agriculture, the keeping of one or more horses, nurseries,
greenhouses for growing only, landscape gardening and tree farms, including
sale of products grown on premises.
Item 38 - Secondary uses customarily incident to the permitted or conditional
uses allowed in the district.
It is our interpretation that item 10 and item 38 allows for the activities
conducted on this site by Dundee Nursery.
This is an overview of the yearly activities as conducted by Dundee Nursery.
Clearly our growing operation is within the scope of Item 10 of the ordinance.
The merchandising of our products which includes the sale of the items
used to maintain and enhance our plants is clearly addressed in Item 38.
To explain the growing operation it will be helpful to know that
Dundee operates on 33 acres at the Plymouth site; and has 2 other
parcels that total 22 acres, for a total of 55 acres. Some
of the area is for parking and administrative activity. The
total area available for production at the present time is 50 acres,
with 42 acres in production.
We produce and sell the vast
company is to produce all the
produce and sell:
14,000
Medium Shrubs
12,000
Hanging Baskets
16,000
Small Shrubs
10,000
Large Shrubs
3,000
Ornamental Trees
2,000
Shade Trees
9,000
Chrysanthemums
1,500
Poinsettias
majority of our plants. The aim of our
plants we sell. At the present time we
GARDEN CENTER
PLYMOUTH • 16800 HWY, 55 • 559.4016
SAVAGE • 4225 COUNTY RD. 42 • 894.8740
Page 2
Honorable Virgil Schneider
;ay 21 , 1"88
60,000
Perennial Flowers
23,000
Ground Cover Plants
18,000
Evergreens
80,000
Geraniums
400,000
Annual Flowers
4,000
Wildflowers
5,000
Roses
20,000
Springeri & Spikes
3,000
Indoor House Plants
We also offer for sale items associated with and required for the
proper care of these products. The plants as listed above, account
for over 680,000 units grown. The unit count of associated incidental
items is less than 100,000 units, representing less than 15% of the
total unit sales. The zoning ordinance for the FRD Zoning does allow
for this activity.
The landscape division is the sales arm of our retail operation. This
division has a staff of 8 qualified landscape designers who develop
custom designed landscape plans tailored to the needs of the individual
home owner or business customer. These designers work in a landscape
design office on site. Their equipment includes desks, drawing tables,
slide projectors, CAD system etc. Ours is a design facility at the
leading edge of modern technology. The landscape staff does sell approximately
20% of our plant production.
The Landscape installation crews report mostly to the job. The required
plants and materials for the installation are delivered directly to
the site. Plant materials come from our growing facilities, construction
materials from our suppliers.
In 1982 Dundee started a Re -wholesale division to furnish plant products
to other retail outlets, independent landscape contractors and municipalities.
This division has accounted for significant growth in our growing operations.
The re -wholesale division now accounts for approximately 400/. of our total
plant sales.
The Dundee Floral Department is the outlet for our growing operation
of Poinsettias, Pot Mums, Foliage Plants & Hanging Baskets.
It is our desire to replace our fire destroyed facility as quickly as
Possible. With your forebearance we would like to move the building
location further from the road to allow for better landscape display
gardens. We have long realized that our present location has created
landscape problems due to lack of space.
Very truly yours,
1�
X, (d _�'4��
Gerald W. Theis
Secretary/Treasurer
GWT/cdt
May 26, 1988
Mr. Dennis Brengman
Brengman Construction
3224 Xenwood Avenue South
St. Louis Park, MN 55416
Dear Denny:
This letter is in reference to our recent conversation regarding the Customer Coment
Card you submitted concerning the time frame involved with the plan review process
for building permit applications. In your card you made reference that the waiting
period to obtain your permit took nine (9) days.
Our Department has developed a series of checklists and informational handouts which
identify the time frame involved in the process of various permit applications and
are designed to help expedite the permit issuance process. I have enclosed a copy
for your reference.
During the submittal of your application materials, our plan checker became
hospitalized which caused the delay of services we strive to provide. Our
Department has since acquired the service of a temporary plans examiner who will
begin employment with us on June 1, 1988, to review residential building permit
applications. This additional support will ensure that complete applications for
building permits will be processed within seven (7) working days upon receipt.
I regret any inconvenience this may have caused you in your scheduling efforts. Let
me assure you our objective is to provide the best possible public service to the
customers we serve. If you have any questions, please call me.
Sincerely,
JoeRyan
Building Official
JR:ds
Enclosure
cc: Frank Boyles, Assistant City Manager
File
3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD, PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447, TELEPHONE (612) 559-2800
May 16,1988
Mayor Virgil Schneider
City of Plymouth
3400 Plymouth Blvd
Plymouth, MN 55447
Dear Mayor,
The residents of Creekside of Plymouth have been trying to
get the City of Plymouth to allow them to add decks to the
three level units. I am one of those homeowners and I would
like to appeal to you to help us. It seems that we are the
victims of not getting what we were promised by the builder.
He got a conditional use permit, but didn't follow up and
get the lots repleated.
I know that there are other townhouse units in Plymouth that
have been allowed to add decks on common ground. I think
that we should be allowed to do the same. I look forward
to your action on our behalf. Thank you.
cc: Lloyd Ricker
Jerry Sisk
Maria Vasiliou
Bob Zitur
Sincerely,
i
Cathy Guthie
3949 Orchi Lane
Plymouth, MN 55446
0
hEWITT
PETERSON4900 N. County Rd. 18 • Suite 102 • Minneapolis, MN 55428 • (612) 533-7017
ASSOCIATES
May 19, 1988
Mayor Virgil Schneider
CITY OF PLYMOUTH
3400 Plymouth Blvd.
Plymouth, MN 55447
Dear Virgil:
When you have occasion, please take a drive through
Harrison Hills and look at the chip trail. I think
it looks great and fits in perfectly with the layout.
Sincere ,
Q
Davi Peterson
DP/sa
CC.
MAY 20
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