HomeMy WebLinkAboutEditionEdina_October 2015On Sunday, Sept. 27, the City closed West 50th Street between Browndale and Beard avenues to vehicles
to hold the inaugural Open Streets on 50th event, which encouraged residents to get out and enjoy
the streets in a new way. The focus was on health and wellness, active transportation and connecting
community members. An estimated 9,000 people attended the four-hour long event.
4801 W. 50th St.
Edina, MN 55424
952-927-8861
mail@EdinaMN.gov
www.EdinaMN.gov
The City of Edina
Speak Up, Edina!
OCTOBER 2015
Volume 2, Issue 10
Legend:
Infrastructure
Commercial and Mixed-Use Redevelopment
Workforce
Communication and Engagement
Community Vision
Aviation Noise
Edi tion:
The City’s next online discussion is now available
at www.SpeakUpEdina.org. The discussion, which
focuses on public safety, is available until Dec. 7.
The City of Edina provides police, fire and EMS
services. According to the 2015 Quality of Life
Survey, 21 percent of residents surveyed have
contacted the Police Department in the last year.
In addition, 98 percent of those surveyed rate
fire and EMS services as “excellent” or “good.”
Police services received an “excellent” or “good”
rating from 90 percent and 87 percent gave those
marks for crime prevention. About 4 percent of
those surveyed said “safety” is the biggest issue
facing Edina.
In this discussion, the City asks whether residents
feel safe living in and visiting different areas
of the city, what areas of Edina could benefit
from enhanced police presence, and how they
describe their biggest safety concern. The
feedback from this discussion will be compiled
and presented to the City Council Dec. 15.
This month, the City has been gathering
feedback about parks, recreation and
programming. Questions asked include what
residents think about Edina’s neighborhood
parks, what amenities they like or could be added
or improved, what they think about the Parks &
Recreation Department’s current offerings of
programing and what opportunities they’d like to
see added in the future. The feedback from this
discussion will be compiled and presented to the
City Council Nov. 17.
To weigh in on a discussion, visit
www.SpeakUpEdina.org.
Seasonal parking restrictions go into
effect Nov. 1. As a part of the 2015
“Focus In” campaign, Edina patrol
officers will focus efforts on night and
snow parking during the month of
November.
Residents are reminded to keep their vehicles off
the street overnight from November through March.
According to local law, no vehicle may be parked on a
street, highway or alley under these conditions:
• From 1 to 6 a.m. Nov. 1 through March 31, regardless
of wintery conditions.
• When 1.5 inches or more of snow has fallen. Once
streets and roadways have been plowed to the
curb line, residents can park vehicles on designated
roadways.
• For six hours after a snowfall has ended, unless City
traffic signs specifically allow vehicles to park on
roadways.
“Night parking ordinances are extremely beneficial
to us,” said Public Works Director Brian Olson. “[They
allow the Public Works Department] to start plowing
immediately when overnight snowfall occurs.”
Each month, patrol officers focus police efforts on
a specific statutory violation in order to educate the
public and gain compliance. Education includes a
warning to those who violate the statutes or codes. In
extenuating circumstances, a citation may be issued.
The violations the Police Department “Focus In” on
have seasonal relevance, affect the quality of life in
Edina or pose safety risks to residents. All statutes are
enforced year-round, but additional attention is paid
to the focus of the month.
Last November, 319 verbal or written warnings were
given out.
So far this year, Police have focused on obstructed
vision, failure to signal, unsafe equipment, failure to
display headlights, bike safety, following too close,
pedestrian safety, child and seatbelt safety and
texting and driving. Next month, police will “Focus In”
on the “move over” law.
For more information, contact the Edina Police
Department at 952-826-1610.
Police ‘Focus In’ on
Night & Snow Parking
Open Streets on 50th
Edina’s 9-1-1 dispatchers, on average, answer 94,500
calls each year from Edina and Richfield residents. Due
to that call load, the Edina Police Department sought a
user-friendly system when it looked to replace its 9-1-1
phone system.
“The change to the new 9-1-1 phone system took a
couple years overall,” said Dispatch Supervisor Tony
Martin. “But we wanted to make sure we went with the
right system for us and tested it over and over and over
to make sure that it was fail-proof when it launched.”
At 2 a.m. Wednesday, July 15, Dispatch made the
switch to the new system. Martin said it was a seamless
transition as they switched the system over line by line.
Shortly after, radios and the
reporting and call-logging
software also need to be
transferred over to remain
compatible with the new
system.
The 9-1-1 Dispatch Center
answers 9-1-1 calls, non-
emergency calls and
general calls into the
Department. With the
new system, VESTA 9-1-
1 Solution from Airbus
DS Communications,
dispatchers are able
to more easily transfer
calls, personalize their
workstation dashboard and
select day or night mode to make their 12-hour shifts
answering calls more comfortable.
“It’s much easier to use, things are categorized better
and the call-in number for non-emergency calls shows
up on our caller ID. It didn’t in the old system, which
meant we couldn’t call those people back if there was
a hang up or they got disconnected for some reason,”
said 9-1-1 Dispatcher Taunya Buboltz, a 12-year veteran
of the Department and one of nine full-time employees
who dispatch for the Edina and Richfield police
departments. Two part-time employees also dispatch
for the Department.
“If the phone system fails now, it will automatically
switch to the backup system. It’s so seamless that the
dispatcher won’t even notice they’re working from the
backup system until we get an alert. That’s probably the
most valuable change between the two systems,” said
I.T. Manager Ryan Browning, who helped to implement
the new 9-1-1 system. “The transition to the new
software was a learning experience, but Tony and his
team were great to work with.”
The 9-1-1 system software is shared by four other
agencies – the City of Minneapolis, Hennepin County
Sheriff’s Office, Allina EMS and Hennepin County
EMS – to save on operating costs. The calls are routed
through two shared data centers in geo-diverse
locations in case of a disaster. The agencies are
then responsible for their
own equipment such as
computers and telephones
on location. Martin, who
heads up the System
Owners Group responsible
for making system-wide
setting decisions, said the
new 9-1-1 phone system
also has the capability to
easily generate reports with
average call answer times
and call volumes at various
times of the day and week.
“With this data, we can
better staff the Dispatch
Center knowing exactly
when the busiest times
typically are,” said Martin, who also acknowledged
the helpfulness of knowing average answer times.
Adequate 9-1-1 answer times are set by the National
Emergency Number Association. According to the
organization’s standards, 9-1-1 calls must be answered
within 10 seconds of the call being placed. Martin
believes Edina dispatchers average a five-second
answer time, but he looks forward to pulling that data.
“One of our dispatchers said, ‘I hate change, but this
system is amazing,’” said Martin. “Truthfully, it’s made
the dispatchers’ jobs so much easier. The less they are
fussing with the system, the better service they can
provide to the callers.”
For more information, contact Martin at 952-826-0523.
Now that work is complete to upgrade equipment in
the Council Chambers and the adjacent A/V control
room at Edina City Hall, Edina is one of the first cities
in the state to have the ability to broadcast all of its
programming in high definition.
In place of the typical standard-definition recording
system, the A/V control room now has a high-definition
recording system, which will allow City Council and
other meetings to be recorded and broadcasted with
improved quality.
The project began Sept. 17 with the gutting of the
control room and was finished Oct. 6. Alpha Video,
the company hired for the project, was responsible
for replacing all of the cables, cameras, production
switcher and the rest of the video distribution
equipment. The most labor-intensive part of the project
was installing all of the cabling that runs through the
walls of the chambers.
“The system that we’re replacing was originally installed
in 2004, when City Hall was first built,” said Video
Production Coordinator Scott Denfeld. “The equipment
was at the end of its life expectancy and was getting
hard to service because we were using an analog
system at a time when everything is digital.”
The new high-definition system will also allow
PowerPoints and other presentations in the Council
Chambers to be displayed in high-definition, making it
easier for meeting participants and those watching from
home or in the audience to read.
The City’s programming airs on channels 16 and 813
for Comcast cable subscribers. Channel 813 is a high-
definition channel.
“We have had a high-definition cable channel for a few
years. Until now, everything except meetings had been
broadcast in HD. Now with the new equipment, even
meetings are broadcast in HD,” Denfeld explained. “We
are one of just a few cities in Minnesota that is fully HD.”
The $165,000 project was paid for with Public,
Education and Government fees from Comcast.
For more information, contact Denfeld at
sdenfeld@EdinaMN.gov or 952-903-5776.
Police Department Launches New 9-1-1 System
Council Chambers Gets Upgraded to HD
Dispatch Supervisor Tony Martin answers calls with two
other dispatchers in the 9-1-1 Dispatch Center at the Edina
Police Department.
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OCTOBER 2015
November Edina 16
Broadcast Schedule
Edina City Council (shown until the next
scheduled meeting)
• Sundays – 3 a.m., 11 a.m.
• Tuesdays – 7 p.m. (live broadcast on 1st and 3rd
Tuesdays of every month)
• Wednesdays – 3 a.m., 11 a.m.
• Saturdays – 7 p.m.
Planning Commission (shown until the next
scheduled meeting)
• Wednesdays – 7 p.m. (live broadcast on 2nd
and 4th Wednesdays of every month)
• Thursdays – 3 a.m., 11 a.m.
• Fridays – 7 p.m.
• Saturdays – 3 a.m., 11 a.m.
League of Women Voters Edina School Board
Election Forum (shown through Nov. 2)
• Mondays – 10 p.m.
• Tuesdays – 6 a.m., 2 p.m.
• Thursdays – 7 p.m.
• Fridays – 3 a.m., 11 a.m.
Heritage Preservation Board (shown through
Nov. 9)
• Mondays – 7 p.m.
• Tuesdays – 3 a.m., 11 a.m.
• Thursdays – 10 p.m.
• Fridays – 6 a.m., 2 p.m.
Transportation Commission (shown through
Nov. 18)
• Sundays – 7 p.m.
• Mondays – 3 a.m., 11 a.m.
• Wednesdays – 10 p.m.
• Thursdays – 6 a.m., 2 p.m.
Park Board (shown Nov. 10 through Dec. 9)
• Mondays – 7 p.m.
• Tuesdays – 3 a.m., 11 a.m.
• Thursdays – 10 p.m.
• Fridays – 6 a.m., 2 p.m.
Agenda: Edina (new episode on the 1st and 15th
of each month)
• Daily at 2:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 6:30 p.m.
Beyond the Badge (new episode on the 1st of
each month)
• Daily at 2 a.m., 10 a.m., 6 p.m.
Upcoming Events
Monday, Nov. 2, 6:30 p.m.
Community Health Commission Meeting,
Edina City Hall.
Tuesday, Nov. 3, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Polls open for Election Day.
Wednesday, Nov. 4, 7 p.m.
City Council Meeting, Edina City Hall.
Tuesday, Nov. 10, 7 p.m.
Park Board Meeting, Edina City Hall.
Heritage Preservation Board Meeting,
Edina City Hall.
Wednesday, Nov. 11
Veterans Day, City Hall closed.
Thursday, Nov. 12, 7 p.m.
Energy & Environment Commission Meeting,
Edina City Hall.
Thursday, Nov. 12, 7 p.m.
Planning Commission Meeting, Edina City Hall.
Tuesday, Nov. 17, 7 p.m.
City Council Meeting, Edina City Hall.
Thursday, Nov. 19, 6 p.m.
Transportation Commission Meeting,
Edina City Hall.
Tuesday, Nov. 24, 7 p.m.
Human Rights & Relations Commission
Meeting, Edina City Hall.
Wednesday, Nov. 25, 7 p.m.
Planning Commission Meeting, Edina City Hall.
Thursday, Nov. 26
Thanksgiving Day, City Hall closed.
Friday, Nov. 27
City Hall closed.
Saturday, Nov. 28, 3-5 p.m.
Tree-Lighting Ceremony, 50th & France.Coming up on its first anniversary, Braemar Field has
become a staple in Edina’s sports and recreation scene.
“We are very pleased with Braemar Field’s first year,”
said Susie Miller, General Manager of Braemar Field and
Braemar Arena. “We’ve developed relationships and neat
partnerships with the field-sport
athletic associations.”
Braemar Field opened Dec. 5,
2014, and features a 400-foot-long,
250-foot-wide and 76-feet-tall,
seasonally domed athletic field at
7509 Ikola Way, next to Braemar
Arena. The field is typically covered
from November to April.
The Edina Soccer Club, Edina
Football Association, Edina
Baseball Association and Edina
Lacrosse Association were all
instrumental in bringing Braemar
Field to life.
“It’s been exciting to see a project like Braemar Field,
which we’ve talked about for 10 years, finally come to
fruition and to see all the different types of users enjoy the
field,” said Parks & Recreation Director Ann Kattreh. “It’s
been a great asset for our athletic associations, especially
in those winter months.”
“It’s almost impossible to quantify the value of Braemar
Field to the Edina Soccer Club,” said Jeff Northrup,
Vice President of the Club and soccer coach. “We were
previously at three other facilities. … Those locations
weren’t in Edina and were not convenient for families and
made the Edina Soccer Club less competitive. Now having
maybe one of the best facilities in the state, the Club is
living up to Edina’s brand of excellence.”
With an annual budget of about $554,000, Braemar
Field is also seeing financial success. Miller said Braemar
Field was at 58 percent of its budgeted expenses as of
Sept. 30. By year’s end, Miller and
Kattreh expect revenues to exceed
budgeted projections by more
than 15 percent.
Visitors to Braemar Frield also
have an impact at Braemar Arena.
Miller said the concessions stand
at the Arena has seen a 24 percent
increase in sales, which she partly
attributes to Braemar Field.
“We see people who drop their kids
off at Braemar Field and come over
to Braemar Arena to grab a snack
and watch a hockey game,” Miller
said. “The synergy between Braemar
Field, the Arena and the Backyard Rink has been great.”
Miller said she plans to continue to increase programming
in the coming year with more camps, classes and fitness
programs such as “Couch to 5K.” She also strives to rent
more non-prime field time. Currently, about 92 percent of
non-prime field time has been rented, just shy of Braemar
Field’s 96 percent goal.
Braemar Field has about 10 part-time staff, and shares
other staff with Braemar Arena.
For more information, contact Miller at 952-826-0502 or
visit www.BraemarField.com.
Having worked for five local governments, Kay McAloney
is considered a leader in human resources for the public
sector. Though she’s been at the top of her game for
some time, there was still something missing from her own
resume.
“Edina has a wonderful reputation as an employer,” said
MacAloney. “I’ve heard great things about the teamwork
here and culture and wanted to be part of it.”
McAloney began work as the City of Edina’s Human
Resources Director earlier this month, succeeding Lisa
Schaefer. Schaefer was promoted to Assistant City
Manager earlier this year.
“Kay is an expert in human resources, and Edina will
benefit from her extensive experience in city and county
government,” said Schaefer. “In order for the City to meet
the needs of our residents, we must attract and retain
highly skilled and well-trained staff. I am confident that
Kay will work to ensure the right systems are in place to do
that.”
McAloney has worked in HR for nearly 30 years in the cities
of Ramsey, Anoka, Brooklyn Park and Bloomington, as well
as Washington County. However, prior to her work in the
public sector, her life looked very different.
“I was working in private sector as a warehouse manager
… and it was when things weren’t going very well [at
work] that I thought, ‘I think I can do a better job than that
and have the employees treated better than that,’” she
explained.
With a bachelor’s degree in Business Management already
under her belt, she went to University of Minnesota –
Carlson School of Management to obtain a master’s
degree in Human Resources and Industrial Relations.
McAloney enjoys the stability and consistent hours
of working in the public sector, but also appreciates
the variety of projects and people that she has the
opportunity to work with. As a self-described life-long
learner, she appreciates the opportunity to learn from
new groups of people and find ways in which areas could
operate smoother.
“I like working with the different employee groups. You
get to work with folks in public works, police and fire and
other areas that you wouldn’t get exposed to otherwise,”
she said. “I also like the policy administration. [I really
enjoy] helping to write policies and administer policies that
actually work in the workplace.”
McAloney grew up in Anoka County, where she lives
today. She and her husband, Allen, are looking forward
to moving into a new home along Rum River in Anoka in
November.
For more information, contact McAloney at
kmcaloney@EdinaMN.gov.
A new water
feature and
beautiful
landscaping
are part of the
latest addition
of the Edina
Promenade, a
greenway that
connects the
Southdale area’s
various retail,
residential and
recreational
amenities.
The Promenade
is located north
of Centennial
Lakes Park,
behind Lunds
& Byerlys and
Target off of Hazelton Road. “Overall, the project went
well,” said Engineering Technician Charlie Gerk. “It was
a very unique project and the contractor we hired did a
good job of interpreting and executing what the artist
originally intended.”
Peterson Companies, the contractor hired to take on
the project, accommodated the artistic demands of
the project from design, to construction, to project
management. They worked closely with AECOM, the
engineer and architect for the entire Promenade, to
make the artistic visions of the project become a reality.
“Something that not a lot of people know is that where
the Promenade is now was originally a gravel pit. After
it was mined, it turned into a landfill where people
dumped construction debris,” said Gerk. “Any dirt
that was excavated from the site [for the Promenade]
had to be sent to a landfill because it was considered
contaminated soil.”
Barr Engineering provided the environmental services,
including classifying soils, identifying whether or not
they were contaminated and managing any necessary
disposal.
“I really liked going out to the project. A lot of people
use the Promenade for morning or afternoon walks and
we got to know the residents who use the trails every
day,” Gerk said. “It was enjoyable talking to them about
the progress of the project, hearing their input, and
praise about how the project turned out.”
“It has been fun and interesting watching the progress
of this project all summer,” said Edina resident
Jo Stephens. “I’m glad to have my walking path
back. It only adds to the beauty and livability of the
neighborhood.”
“The Promenade Phase IV is a beautiful addition to the
crown jewel of our park system, Centennial Lakes Park,”
said Parks & Recreation Director Ann Kattreh. “We
are pleased with the way the project turned out and
hope that residents will enjoy the updates made to the
Promenade.”
The cost of the project was just under $1.5 million.
The Edina Promenade is home to a rotating outdoor
sculpture exhibition, which is run by the City of Edina’s
Arts & Culture Commission. The second-place winner of
the 2014 Public Art People’s Choice Awards, “3 Dancing
Sandhill Cranes,” was relocated from its original site
at 50th & France to the Promenade this summer and
highlighted as part of the grand-opening celebration.
The sculpture is a prominent feature near the large
pond. The art piece was purchased in early July by
Public Art Edina.
For more information, contact the City’s Engineering
Department at 952-826-0371.
Braemar Field Closes in on Successful First Year
City Welcomes McAloney as New HR Director
City Completes Latest Addition to Edina Promenade
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Kay McAloney started as the City’s new Human Resources
Director in early October.
Braemar Field is seasonally domed, providing
a year-round practice facility for Edina’s field
sports. The 400-foot-long, 250-foot-wide field
is typically covered November to April.
Rocks surrounding the new water
features were hand-placed, one-
by-one.
edina
SMARTSSTREET
Made possible through support from the Statewide Health Improvement Program, Minnesota Department of Health.
Get more tips for Motorists, Bicyclists and Pedestrians
at www.EdinaMN.gov.
Have a Back-up Plan
Be aware of your surroundings.