03/06/14 - Laserfiche WebLink

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notice the stop arms at the RR crossing have come down and the train is crossing Armstrong Blvd. To the west, or your right, you witness RR cars derailing about 1/3 mile west of the intersection. RR cars continue to derail, with what looks to be at least 6 have left the tracks. The entire train eventually stops. There is some light smoke showing from the derailed cars but you can't tell exactly the source or the exact location from where you are. Just a very short time later the smoke has turned very black and dense, you can see flames at the base of the cars. Your fellow table members pull up to you on Armstrong Blvd. You all get out and are standing next to your city vehicle. Then an extremely loud explosion happens at what you think is the de- railed site. A few minutes later an Elk River Police Officer has driven up from the western side of the incident on Hwy 10. With binoculars he reports to the Ramsey PD that he can see heavy flames. There appears to be 4 vehicles in the west bound lane of Hwy 10 stopped, unknown is the extent of damage, but there may be windows broken in all 4 vehicles. All other traffic has stopped about/ mile on either side of the incident. Public Works — shifts modes! With the weather warming up, PW has shifted to more of a winter clean up mode. We are still getting requests to widen roads and push back corners to improve visibility for motorists, but now we are starting to mix in calls on plugged catch basins and potholes. The Parks Department is working on trail /sidewalk clearing. The warming houses at Central Park and Ramsey Elementary will be closing for the season this Sunday, March 9 Numbers were down this year due to the overabundance of below zero nights we had this winter. The Utilities Department is still receiving calls for frozen water services. Even though the temperature is warming up, it may be several weeks before we're out of the woods on this issue. Northwest Metro Water Supply Work Group update Membership of this group includes the cities of Anoka, Andover, Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Champlin, Coon Rapids, Dayton, Fridley, Maple Grove, Ramsey and Rogers, as well as Anoka County, the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Health, and the Metropolitan Council. On February 27 the group met and was informed that the Metropolitan Council had been awarded a grant through the Clean Water Fund and wanted to use the grant funds to complete a water supply study for the northwest metropolitan area, including the City of Ramsey. A similar study is currently underway in the southeast metro so this would be the second such study to be completed in the metro area. To complete the study the Met Council would employ a consultant, but there would be no cost to work group members to participate in the study. The study would consist of compiling and reviewing available data for the purpose of assessing the long -term sustainability of water use for current and future generations. Participating in the study would not require a commitment to any future alternatives being considered. By participating in the study the City of Ramsey would benefit by being better able to plan for our future water supply needs by considering input from regulating agencies and regional partners, which is one of the goals of the City's Strategic Action Plan.