Ramsey Resident - 2004 - December

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10 BOULEVARD STAKING POLICY City of Ramsey policy prohibits the use of metal fence posts and other non-breakaway mate- rials in the public right of way. City staff will remove materials that pose a threat to public safety or interfere with maintenance operations. Wooden lath are available in limited quantities at City Hall for use in marking the boulevard for snow removal purposes. Small fiberglass poles and aluminum poles with reflectors may also be used, but will be the responsibility of the homeowner to maintain. The purpose of the policy is to remove stal(- ing from the public right of way that causes an unnecessary threat to public safety and which hin- ders snow removal operations. GENERAL ELECTION UPDATE The General Election was held on November 2, 2004; all eight polling places were open - and busy! There were long lines as the polls opened at 7 :00 a.m., but the rest of the day was just a "steady stream" of people. The election judges registered 2,41 7 new people, for a grand total of 13,512 registered voters. There was a record turnout for this election; 11,568, which is 85.61 % of the registered voters. The average percentage of voter turnout Anoka County-wide was 83.45%, and the average State-wide was 79.87%. Ramsey topped both averages! The seats up for our local election were Mayor, Councilmember at large, Councilmember for Ward 2, and Councilmember for Ward 4. Thomas Gamec, incumbent, won the mayoral seat with 54.34% of the votes. Sarah Strommen, incumbent, won the seat for Councilmember at large with 65.59% of the votes, Mary Jo Olson won the Council seat for Ward 2 with 58.60% of the votes and David Jeffrey won the seat for Ward 4 with 53.26% of the votes. The new Council will take their seats on January 3. The phone numbers for the new members are as follows: Mary Jo Olson - 763-712-0241; and David Jeffrey - 763-422-8797. Refer to the back page of the Ramsey Resident for the numbers of the current Mayor and Councilmembers. If you have any questions relating to the election or election results, please contact J 0 Thieling, City Clerk, at 763-433-9840 or ithieling@ci.ramsey.mn.us. Snowplowing FAQ Continued From Page 9 Salt is a good de-icing agent because it is relatively cheap and in large supply. One of the drawbacks 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 works staff will 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 30oA>. This testing will be done on several problem areas where heavy tree cover keeps the sun from reaching the pavement most of the winter. The lack 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 work in smaller areas. The job of the large equipment is to clear the roads. Safety is one of the main concerns. A large amount of backing up, in a fairly small area, is required to clear a cul-de-sac. The large trucks have poor visibility to the rear, so we try to avoid using them in cul- de-sacs. Efficiency is also an issue. The large trucl( can clear 5- 6 blocks 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 stal(e 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 Works department distributes wooden lath, free of charge in the fall, to help marl( the edge of the boulevard. This lath is available at the fall recycling day in October or at City Hall. The lath will break 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 stakes used in the boulevard. Q. The snowplow tore up the grass in front of my house. Who's responsible for repairing the damage in the spring? A. The City of Ramsey retains an easement on the edge of the road for snow storage and utility placement. This easement varies, depending on the development, but normally is 12' -15' from the edge of the road. When you call in to report sod damage, your name and address are recorded on a list. In the spring, city crews will go around and repair the turf damage with black dirt and grass seed. We try to avoid damage, but it does happen. The weather, especially early and late in the season, has a great impact on the amount of damage that occurs. Un-frozen ground is not very forgiving and even the slightest touch of the plow causes damage to the surrounding turf. Stal(ing the blvd. is a great help to drivers as it helps them to visualize the edge of the road. The drivers try their best, but it's not easy knowing exactly where the edge of the road is at all times, especially at 3am in the middle of a snow storm! It ~S' almost impossible to overestil11~ate the unimportance of nlost things. - John Logue Continued on Page 14