COMMUNICATIONS AND NEWS FROM THE WEEK:  

Meetings and Announcements:   

 

The next City Council meeting and workshop will be held on October 14^th .   There will be a Maplewood EDA meeting at 6 pm  in lieu of a workshop. The Council meeting will begin at 7 pm.

Maplewood Business Council meetings (MBC) and the St. Paul Chamber Business Education Series schedule of events is listed below:

o   October or November                                   Maplewood Business Engagement Breakfast. Staff is working on holding a networking event in late afternoon/early evening in lieu of the breakfast format. This is based on feedback of past attendees and Mayor Abrams and Councilmember Smith. More details to come.

o   December 10 / 3-4:30 p.m.                          Business Education Series – 8 Metrics to Success (Roseville)

Nepali Market Opening- Saturday (tomorrow) at noon. 1700 Rice Street. I will not be able to attend but Ellie and other staff have indicated they will stop by for the opening.

Updates from Staff and Council:

 

ADMINISTRATION

New Maplewood Y/MCC Community Board

I wanted to let you know that starting in January, I will be the Chair of a newly created Maplewood Community Board. Previously, the YMCA Community Board served both White Bear Lake and Maplewood.  A decision was made earlier this year to go to two separate boards.

As such, I am looking for members to serve on the Board. I am reaching out to you to see if you know anyone who might be interested in serving. The specific commitments for serving on the Board involve being advocates and boosters for the YMCA, seek out community partners, connections and relationships and help with fundraising. The goal of the Board is to lead in planning, monitoring and evaluate YMCA programs and services. The Board meets every other month for an hour and a half at lunch time. 

 

One of my interest areas is enhancing our partnerships we have with our low income areas(such as Maplewood Ponds) and residents, including after school day care and providing food and other services. I am also interested in seeing if we can enhance partnerships with our schools.

If you know anyone who might be interested in serving with me, please let me know.

Thanks for your assistance, Melinda

 

PUBLIC SAFETY

New Connections with U.S Virgin Islands

On 10/9/19 the Public Safety Director and the Chiefs of Fire and EMS met with representatives of the U.S. Virgin Islands to discuss operational issues with a focus on Fire based EMS services.  It was a great conversation and exchange of information.  The Virgin Islands continue to look to improve services and were impressed with Maplewood’s capacity to respond to both Fire and EMS calls. 

 

The Maplewood Police Department was featured in the Minnesota Police Journal, which is the official publication of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association.  The article highlighted how Maplewood is empowering our frontline staff in areas related to problem solving and strategic planning.

  

A copy of the article can be found online at: online.fliphtml5.com/grquv/yqvy/

If you like I can print out a copy of the article. 

 

PARKS AND RECREATION

Deer Management

Metro Bowhunters Resource Base (MBRB) will be conducting archery hunts on the following dates in Maplewood:

 

Battle Creek Archery Hunt- October 14-16, Nov 4-6

Priory- Oct 25-27, Nov 15-17

Fish Creek (on Ramsey County land)- Oct 25-27, Nov 15-17

 

The Parks will be closed during the hunts, and the entrance to Afton Heights will be barricaded during the Battle Creek hunt. Signs have been posted at the Priory, and letter mailed to the adjacent neighbors. Ramsey County is responsible for notifications and posting signage for the Fish Creek and Battle Creek hunts.

  

PUBLIC WORKS

Pedestrian Crossing Policy

City staff and the City’s consultant, S.E.H., have started work on a pedestrian crossing policy.  Over the next several months we will be reviewing existing policies in use by other local agencies, review best practices, meet with various departments (such as public safety and community development), and draft a new policy for the City of Maplewood.  We are planning to present the draft policy at the January 27, 2020 City Council work shop as an update and to gather feedback on the policy from the City Council.

 

Thanks for reading this week’s FYI. Please call if you have any questions or concerns. See you on Monday! Melinda