Ramsey Resident - 2002 - November/December

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12 CHARTER ARTICLE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Nordmarl<en et at v. City of Richfield held that the process for adopting and approving land use planning and zoning ordinances is so fully covered by state law that it has become solely a matter of state concern. The State Legislature has declared its intent to provide Minnesota Municipalities with a "single body of law" that contains both the "necessary powers" and "uniform procedures" for municipal planning. As the district court held, that single body of law, reflected in the Municipal Planning Act of 1965 and the Metropolitan Land Planning Act of 1976, sets out a detailed and elaborate structure of procedural authority and processes for comprehensive land use planning and ensuring reasonable compatibility with land use plans of other municipalities. Full text of these chapters of the City Charter is available on the City website at www.ci.ramsey.mn.us. If you are interested in further information relating to these two Charter questions, please contact City Clerl< Jo Thieling at 763-433-9840. l( ICE RINK SCHEDULE AND CLOSING GUIDELINES Ice rinl<s at Ramsey Elementary School (15100 Nowthen Boulevard N.W.) and Central Parl< (7925 161 st Avenue N.W.) are open weel<days from 3:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. (10 p.m. if needed); Saturdays from 9: 00 a.m. to 10: 00 p.m.; and Sundays from noon to 8:00 p.m. Rinks will be closed if: 1. Temperatures are 10 degrees below zero or lower, and expected to remain so. 2. Rinl<s are in unsafe conditions due to warm weather. 3. Attendant may close if weather conditions become severe and are expected to remain so. 4. Temperatures are 32 degrees or above. SNOWPLOWING F AQ ARTICLE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9 roads because of the relatively low volume of traffic and lower speeds. Sand is a short-term fix at best. It is best used in very cold weather to provide temporary traction. It has no real melting properties and depending on the amount of traffic, the sand will be embedded in to the snow or blown to the edge of the road by passing traffic. The trend in de-icing today is away from using sand. Some reasons for this trend are air- borne pollution, and clean up costs associated with sand. Salt is a good de-icing agent because it is relatively cheap and in large supply. One of the drawbacl<s of salt is it starts to lose its effectiveness at about 15 degrees. Environmental issues can also arise if salt is not applied properly. Public worl<s staffwill be testing several different chemicals this winter to see if they can help clear our roads and lower our use of salt and salt/sand. Distributors of these chemicals claim they can cut salt use by as much as 30%. This testing will be done on several problem areas where heavy tree cover l<eeps the sun from reaching the pavement most of the winter. The lacl< of sun results in a build up of ice that requires constant applications of sand or salt to control. Q. Why doesn't the large plow truck clear my cul-de-sac? A. The large plow equipment is not designed to worl< in smaller areas. The job of the large equipment is to clear the roads. Safety is one of the main concerns. A large amount ofbaclcing up, in a fairly small area, is required to clear a cul-de-sac. The large trucl<s have poor visibility to the rear, so we try avoiding using them in cul-de-sacs. Efficiency is also an issue. The large trucl< can clear 5-6 blocl<s of main roadway in about the same amount of time it would tal<e the driver to clear one cul-de-sac. Q. Why should I stake the curb/boulevard near my home? A. Stal<ing the boulevard helps the plow driver visualize the edge of the road. In a heavy snowfall sometimes the driver can not see where the road bends or the exact location of the corner. The Public Worl<s department distributes wooden lathe, free of charge in the fall, to help marl< the edge of the boulevard. This lathe is available at the fall recycling day in October or at City HalL The lathe will breal< off after a couple of snowfalls, but will have served its purpose by helping the driver establish the curb line. Please do not use metal stal<es to marl< the boulevard. They are dangerous to install and can be a hazard to pedestrians and motorists using the roadway. City crews will remove metal stal<es used in the boulevard. Continued on Page 14 The strength of a nation derives frol11~ the integrity of the home. - Confilcius