The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutCitySlick_October_2012CITYSLICK p1 by David Katz, Communications Intern As head of the Edina Art Center’s Peggy Kelly Media Arts Studio, Phil Johnson helped countless Edinans edit and digitize home videos for use in wedding receptions, graduation parties and the occasional retirement gathering. On Sept. 30, after 15 years in the position, Johnson celebrated his own retirement. Johnson had been at the helm of the Media Arts Studio since its creation in 1997. “Looking back, it’s incredible to see how technology has changed over the months and years,” he said. “We secured our original video and media transfer equipment from Hennepin County Library, which had shut down its media lab two years before. In the ﬁrst ﬁve years, though, we had to replace about 90 percent of that ﬁrst generation equipment. … Technology moves that quickly.” That fact, Johnson explains, is in a nutshell why the Media Arts Studio is a valuable and popular resource. “We help people transfer and preserve old media – but basically, treasured memories – onto more useful and more permanent formats.” This includes scanning old photographs, transferring LPs and cassettes to CD, and moving reel footage onto DVD. Johnson is especially proud of the studio’s strong educational bent. “You can get your 16mm ﬁlm reel reformatted at a lot of places, but I made it a priority that we offer regular lessons.” This ‘do-it-yourself’ approach is advantageous for two reasons, Johnson said. For one, enrolling in an Art Center class with a speciﬁc media project in mind costs about half of what it would to pay a contractor to perform the same task. For another, “Storage space is increasing exponentially. Whereas a 3-inch reel might hold three minutes of footage, a tiny 16 GB ﬂash drive can hold hours.” Hiring someone else to work with this much raw data is not only expensive, but bound to produce a ﬁnished product very different from what you intended. Johnson will miss much about his work at the Art Center, but high on that list is working one-on-one with students. “Each project is different, [but there’s always] a fascinating human interest element to local, family history,” he said. One of his favorite stories is of a woman who came into the studio to edit and splice her parents’ jumbled home movies. With a DVD in hand, she then showed the cut version to her 90-year-old mother, who provided a narration on the people and places depicted. Johnson was later able to add background music and superimpose this audio over the footage. “This could potentially be an heirloom. … Without the postproduction, though, the same pictures would’ve meant little or nothing to anyone,” he said. While Media Studio classes will continue to be offered, Johnson’s knowledge and enthusiasm will be sorely missed. “Phil is an ambassador for the media studios and the Art Center in every way,” said Interim Art Center Director A newsletter for the City Council and employees of the City of Edina Volume 15.13 10|12|2012 INSIDE THIS ISSUE 2 Around The Water Cooler 4 Staying Healthy 5 Where Are They Now? 5 Techy Tidbits Continued on Page 5... Oct. 13, Amy, Police Oct. 19, Shannon, Police Oct. 20, Mary, Braemar Golf Course Oct. 22, Eric, Finance Oct. 22, Brandon, Fire Oct. 23, Laurene, Police Oct. 23, Jeff, Braemar Golf Course Edina Art Center Media Studio Manager Phil Johnson Retires EMPLOYEE MILESTONES David Boosalis, Police, 5 years. (Oct. 12, 2007) Aimee Canepa, Police, 5 years. (Oct. 8, 2007) Shaun White, Fire, 5 years. (Oct. 8, 2007 Jane Timm, Administration, 15 years. (Oct. 14, 1997) Jeff Garﬁn, Fire, 20 years. (Oct. 12, 1992) Liz Lopez, Community Development, 30 years. (Oct. 18, 1982) CITYSLICK p2 The Edina Art Center Members’ Juried Show The 28th-annual Members’ Juried Show is now in the Margaret Foss Gallery. The exhibit will be on display until Oct. 31. Edina Film Festival The second-annual Edina Film Festival will be held Oct. 25-27. This highly anticipated community event will convene at historic Landmark Edina Cinema in downtown Edina. Festival proceeds go directly to support educational and program opportunities offered by the Edina Art Center. Count on something for everyone. We’ve included the most applauded ideas from last year’s venue, plus new and noteworthy innovations with inter-generational appeal. Look forward to meeting local ﬁlm directors and producers as well as popular movie historian/collector Bob Des Flores. Engaging commentaries and post- ﬁlm Q-and-As will enhance must-see movies. Edina Liquor Edina Liquor is holding a food drive through Oct. 31. All three Edina Liquor locations will collect food and cash donations to beneﬁt Volunteers Enlisted to Assist People (VEAP). VEAP is a non-proﬁt agency serving low- income, senior and disabled people in Edina, Bloomington, Richﬁeld and south Minneapolis. This is Edina Liquor’s ﬁfth year of participating in the food drive. Edina Liquor partners with MillerCoors and the Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association as part of a larger, statewide food drive. To entice customers to donate, Edina Liquor will give a customer a 10 percent discount if he or she donates ﬁve or more non-perishable food items. In addition, store staff will ask customers at checkout if they would like to donate $1 to VEAP, which will be added to the purchase total. In conjunction with the food drive, Edina Liquor – Southdale, 6755 York Ave. S., will hold a paper shredding-event 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 20. Anyone can bring personal and conﬁdential documents for shredding. Though the shredding is free, a donation to the local food shelf is encouraged. Edina Liquor staff will give out a coupon for 10 percent off a purchase at Edina Liquor to anyone who donates ﬁve cans of food or more at the shredding event. Fire Crews respond to duplex ﬁre Around 3 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 29, the Edina Fire Department was called to a possible car ﬁre inside a garage in the 7500 block of West Shore Drive. Crews arrived to ﬁnd the garage fully involved and spreading to the house. The ﬁre eventually reached three alarms. The ﬁre caused extensive damage to both units of the duplex, displacing eight residents. Smoke alarms woke the family in the ﬁrst unit, allowing them to escape quickly and without injury. The ﬁre illustrates the importance of working smoke detectors. Remember to change the batteries in your smoke detectors when you change your clocks back on Sunday, Nov. 4. Fire Prevention Week Oct. 7-13 This week, Oct. 7-13, is Fire Prevention Week. The theme of this year’s Fire Prevention Week is “Have Two Ways Out” and stresses the importance of having a family escape plan and knowing two ways out of every room on your home. Be sure to sit down with your family to discuss ﬁre prevention and your family escape plan. Human Resources Open Enrollment Open enrollment is just around the corner. This year’s open enrollment period is Nov. 1-30. Beneﬁts information will be distributed to all eligible employees the week of Oct. 29. Employees are strongly encouraged to attend an open enrollment session to hear a review of beneﬁt options as well as a more detailed explanation on the change to vacation accruals that was previewed in the September issue of City Slick. Sessions have been scheduled for: t3-4 p.m. Nov. 6, Fire Station No. 1 t9-10 a.m. Nov. 8, Public Works & Park Maintenance Facility t8-9 a.m. Nov. 13, City Hall Council Chambers AROUND THE WATER COOLER Following is a summary of some of the projects of some departments, divisions and facilities. Other areas of the City will be featured in upcoming issues. CITYSLICK p3 t3-4 p.m. Nov. 13, City Hall Council Chambers t1-2 p.m. Nov. 14, City Hall Council Chambers Planning to retire next year? Have a sticky beneﬁts situation? Just need help understanding your beneﬁts options? Schedule an individual consultation with our broker from Gallagher Beneﬁts Services. Consultants will be available 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Nov. 15 and noon to 4 p.m. on Nov. 20 at City Hall. Classiﬁcation Study Update Thank you for your time and cooperation in reviewing job descriptions. Staff is nearing the end of the analysis portion of the classiﬁcation study, which mainly impacts non-union employees. Results will be presented to employees in the end of November and beginning of December. Union employees may have updated job descriptions as a result of the study, but the salaries for those positions will remain as negotiated through contracts. STAFF NOTES Sgt. Vik Konters recently received the Edina Police Department’s Distinguished Service Award for his 20 years of service with the Minnesota Law Enforcement Memorial Honor Guard (LEMA). A founding member of the organization whose mission is to assists families of ofﬁcers who have died in the line of duty, Konters has dedicated his wisdom and time to building the ﬁrst statewide honor guard. During his tenure, Konters took part in honoring more than 20 fallen police ofﬁcers and 150 LEMA events around the country. He also served as an instructor at Camp Ripley for LEMA training. Ofﬁcer Jim Rygg received the Edina Police Department’s Distinguished Service Award for his dedication to safety through trafﬁc enforcement during his 18-year career here. Since joining the department, Rygg has written 25,000 citations and despite his continuous contact with residents, Police Chief Jeff Long said Rygg has always remained respectful and exempliﬁes the high level of dedication and professionalism the City of Edina aspires to. CAUGHT IN THE ACT Jackie Onischuk, Liz Lopez, Solvei Wilmot, Mitzi Wicklund and Judy Laufenburger recently attended the 2012 Munici-Pals Annual Fall Business Meeting at Bunker Hills Golf Club House. The evening’s speaker was Leya Drabczak from the City of Coon Rapids whose topic was “Hoarding – Managing Problem Properties.” G.E.M. AWARD On Tuesday, Oct. 2, a small group was dropped off at the entrance of Centennial Lakes Park for a morning of walking, chatting and fresh air. One excited 96-year-old man separated from the group with a ﬁshing pole and proceeded to briskly walk toward the lake near the north end of the building. Setting his pole on the ground next to him, the man stepped down onto the lowest step near the lake and, unfortunately, lost his balance. He fell into the water. Panic set in and the man began ﬂailing and sending himself further out into the lake. As his group gathered around, Park Manager Tom Shirley rushed over to see what all the commotion was about. Attempts to direct the man safely back to the side of the lake or to stand were deemed hopeless, as neither he nor most the people in his group spoke any English. As the man’s head began sinking under the water, Shirley and Park Maintenance Supervisor Doug May both jumped in the lake and quickly brought the man above water and lifted him onto the landing. 9-1-1 was called and the two stayed with the man until medical personnel took over. In the end, tragedy was averted due to the quick actions of Shirley and May. And luckily, the only casualties during the day’s events were a couple pairs of shoes and a wallet. With the challenges the City of Edina faces with dying batteries on water meters and the retiring of Jim Halverson, Matt Poythress has had to work very hard to ﬁgure out the routes for each cycle billing, where meters are located if a read cannot be gotten remotely, and ensure the Utility Billing Division has the information it needs to bill each cycle by a deadline. He has had to crawl above ceilings; go into dark, remote places; and even investigate properties to ﬁnd the meters to obtain a read. Without his hard work, dedication and the smile on his face every day, this would be impossible. CLOVER AWARD CITYSLICK p4 The CDC recommends the use of over-the-counter medications and rest to overcome the common cold. Seek guidance from your healthcare provider if your temperature is higher than 100.4 degrees. For more information about the ﬂu or common cold, visit www.cdc.gov or talk with your healthcare provider. The change in season to fall and winter is often marked with snifﬂes, tissues and over- the-counter medicine. Do your part this ﬂu season to prevent illness. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), about 35 to 50 million Americans will come down with the seasonal ﬂu each ﬂu season. The ﬂu season typically lasts November until March. An infected person coughing or sneezing, touching surfaces and sharing objects contaminated by someone with the ﬂu most easily spreads the ﬂu. Those older than 65 years old, children under 5, pregnant woman and those with pre-existing medical conditions are at higher risk to contract the ﬂu. Symptoms of the ﬂu start one to four days after the virus enters the body. It can be spread person-to-person a day before he or she feels sick; however, some people can spread the virus even though they show no symptoms. The ﬂu can still be spread three to seven days after symptoms begin. The CDC says the best way to prevent the ﬂu is to get vaccinated with the ﬂu shot or nasal spray. In addition, regularly washing your hands, avoiding close contact with those who are sick and not touching your eyes, nose or mouth are other ways to prevent the ﬂu. The ﬂu virus affects the respiratory tract. It usually comes on quickly and may include symptoms such as fever, headache, tiredness, dry cough, sore throat, nasal congestion and body aches. If you contract the virus, limit your contact with others. Be sure to get plenty of rest so your body can combat the ﬂu. Always stay hydrated by drinking plenty of clear liquids. Always cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing, and wash your hands often. The CDC also recommends that you consider taking over-the-counter medication to relieve ﬂu symptoms. The common cold is also prevalent this time of year. There are more than 200 viruses that cause the common cold, but the rhinovirus is most common. A cold is marked by sneezing, stuffy or runny nose, sore throat, coughing, watery eyes, mild headache, mild body aches and sometimes a high fever. ADVICE FORSTAYING HEALTHY THIS FLU SEASON by Jordan Gilgenbach, Communications Coordinator Phil Johnson retires Continued from Page 1 ... Michael Frey. “I have always been impressed with his willingness to help out on any request.” In retirement, Johnson will continue devoting time to technology and to helping others. Prior to his position with the City, he worked for several decades in recruitment and personnel training with the Minnesota Department of Civil Defense and the supercomputer maker Control Data, among others. “I learned a lot about business management, corporate negotiations and human resources that I think might be of use to people in some sort of condensed version,” he explained. “I am going to research e-books and possibly write a few, pulling from my experiences.” In addition, he is considering sharing his knowledge through Khan Academy, a growing online education database that offers free lectures and learning modules on business and a host of other topics. Johnson also plans on volunteering at the Art Center in various capacities. He said, “My wife, Naomi, was a volunteer and bookkeeper here from the Center’s very beginning … neither of us is eager to say goodbyes to all of the great people here!” CITYSLICK p5 TECHY TIDBITS by Katie Bisek, Network Support Specialist There are a few methods to scheduling meeting rooms in Outlook 2010. Here are instructions for one of the easiest methods. 1. From within the Calendar area of Outlook, click on “New Meeting” from the “Home” tab at the top of the screen. 2. Enter in the Subject, choose Attendees, enter any notes relevant to the meeting that would be important to others and choose the meeting date and time. 3. Click on the “Rooms” button. 4. The “Select Rooms” window will come up and you will see a list of all of the meeting rooms deﬁned on the server. 5. Double click on the meeting room(s) in which you will to look for availability. Click “OK” when ﬁnished. 6. You will see the “Room Finder” pane on the right. You will see the rooms that you are looking at and the time slots that are available. 7. Click on the room you want to schedule and the time slot. 8. Review all of the other items that you set above. 9. If satisﬁed, press the “Send” button. 10. You will receive a message from the room that you scheduled conﬁrming or declining the reservation. In this feature, I.T. staff will highlight some commonly asked technical questions they receive from staff around the City. If you have questions you’d like answered in Techy Tidbits, send an email to EDInformationTechnology@EdinaMN.gov or leave a message at 952-903-5711. by David Katz, Communications Intern During his tenure as a Park Foreman with the City of Edina, Gene Bartz watched countless semiprofessional and scrimmage sporting events. Along the way, he picked up a few tips and tricks applicable to his own favorite diversion: league softball. Bartz has played softball for decades – 55 years, give or take. Retirement, for him, meant an opportunity to continue that pastime. “Softball is like golf – and unlike football – in that all ages can play, so long as they have an interest. I think it’s a great thing to do as a retiree,” Bartz said. Bartz is far from the only softball enthusiast to hold that view, despite Minnesota’s notoriously inclement playing conditions. Bartz joined the 75-and-over bracket of a popular seniors- only American league. Edina and adjacent suburbs are well represented on his team. “In addition to the actual playing, beganemployment:1958 WHERE ARETHEY NOW? year ofretirement:1999 present my softball career has given me many chances to travel, which is another thing I’ve always enjoyed doing,” Bartz added. Senior league tournaments and events earlier in his softball career have taken him as far south as Dallas and as far north as Winnipeg, Manitoba. Other memorable event locations include Salt Lake City, Phoenix and Seattle. This November, the Minnesota Sports Federation will induct Bartz into the Minnesota Softball Hall of Fame. Bartz started with the City in the Streets Division of the Public Works Department. From there, he moved into the Parks & Recreation Department before ultimately making the jump from Park Foreman to Superintendent of Public Works. “Where Are They Now?” is a feature meant to give employees an idea of what their former colleagues are doing in retirement. If you know of a retiree who might want to be featured in “Where Are They Now?,” call 952-833-9522. JUST SHRED IT Edina Liqu o r – Southda l e 10 a.m. 1 p . m . Saturday, Oct. 2 0 Join us for a FREE shredding event! Shred documents you no longer need in a safe and secure way. Bring five nonperishable food donations to support VEAP and receive a 10% off coupon for Edina Liquor. E DINA L IQUOR