Ramsey Resident - 2022 - January/February

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City Administrator’s Corner Happy New Year! Kurt Ulrich, City Administrator By the time this article reaches your home, it will be the middle of another Minnesota winter and we will be starting a new year. ? e start of the new calendar year also begins a new ? scal year for the City of Ramsey. Our excellent AA+ bond rating and consistent awards for achiev- ing excellence in ? nancial reporting are evidence of the City’s strong ? nancial condition. ? e City Council worked diligently to establish priorities in the 2022 budget that re? ected the priorities of City tax payers. ? is year, maintenance and repair of City streets is a top priority. ? e Council has also invested funds into improving the equipment, buildings and maintence of our City trails and parks. Also in this year’s budget, support for Ramsey’s Police and Fire Departments remains strong, as the number of calls has increased dramatically. For example, our Police Department is projected to respond to about 15,000 calls in 2022, up from 12,102 calls in 2018. In the same period of time, the number of Fire Department calls have also increased over 60 percent. ? e investment of the City in people and equipment that perform these duties is essential in meeting our mission. ? is is the ? rst year of winter operations from the City’s new public works garage and our staﬀ is looking forward to testing the eﬃ ciencies oﬀ ered by the new facility. All of our big trucks and plows are now stored indoors. ? e main- tenance of equipment, storage, access and operations will be greatly improved. Our goal is to have the City cleared of a 2-inch snowfall within 8 hours, with the amount of snow, cold and wind conditions making the job either shorter or longer. My hats-oﬀ to our dedicated public works staﬀ that get up in the middle of the night to begin snowplowing, typically at 2:00 am. ? e middle of the night plowing is more eﬃ cient as crews do not have to deal with parked cars and traf- ? c. Of course, sometimes conditions require us to plow throughout the day and our crews are always there to answer the call. Construction will ? nally begin on the new US Highway 10 in early 2022. Residents and businesses alike will ultimately bene? t by the improved transpor- tation access and the elimination of all traﬃ c lights on US Highway 10 from Anoka to Elk River, but be patient; expect construction next spring and over the next several years on US High- way 10 as it gets completed, starting with the project in Anoka, and moving west to complete interchanges at Sun? sh Lake Boulevard and Ramsey Boulevard in Ram- sey. Please visit the City website at www.cityoframsey.com for information and current events happening in Ramsey. Have a safe, fun and enjoyable winter! Our Mission: To work together to responsibly grow our community, and to pro?ide quality, cost-eﬀ ective and eﬃ cient go?ernment services. Photo by Laurie Hanson Photo by Jenna Martin 4Ramsey Resident • January/February 2022