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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil_Connection_092110Smith appointed new interim City Manager Assistant to the City Manager Ceil Smith was appointed in- terim City Manager. Assistant City Manager Heather Worthington announced her resignation at a work session of the Edina City Council on Mon- day, Sept. 13. Her last day of work in Edina will be Wednes- day, Oct. 6. Worthington has served as interim City Manager since July 30 when Gordon Hughes retired. Her resignation resulted in an unexpected gap in leadership before Scott Neal begins work as City Manager Nov. 8. Smith, who oversees the City’s human resources services, has worked for the City of Edina since November 1977. In addition to being appointed interim City Manager, she was also appointed interim Executive Director of the Hous- ing & Redevelopment Authority. There are no immediate plans to fill the Assistant City Manager position. Neal said he plans to begin work in Edina and deter- mine staffing needs before making a decision. Council considers proposed liquor law change The Council began consideration of an amendment to Edina’s liquor law. In August, the Church of St. Patrick requested that the Council amend the City’s liquor code to allow the church to sell liquor at its annual fundraiser. Un- der the current law, only the Edina Chamber of Commerce, 50th & France Business & Professional Association, Edina Community Foundation and the City may obtain temporary on-sale intoxi- cating liquor licenses. The Council considered an amendment drafted by the City Attorney and granted it first reading. Under the amendment, any club or charitable, religious or other non-profit organization in existence for at least three years, a registered political committee or a State university may apply for a temporary on- sale intoxicating liquor license for an event held within Edina. No more than two such licenses would be granted to the same organization, corporation or location within a calendar year with at least 30 days between issue dates. The Council will consider the liquor law amendment again at its Oct. 5 meeting. Northwest Asphalt to complete 70th Street project The Council awarded the 70th Street improvement project to Northwest Asphalt, Inc. The project is for street and utility improvements for West 70th Street from Minnesota Highway 100 to France Avenue. The project includes recon- structing the existing roadway, installing concrete curb and gutter and bike lanes, installing a traffic signal at West Shore Drive and West 70th, upgrading the traffic signal at Cornelia Drive and West 70th, replacing overhead street lights, rehabili- tating the sanitary sewers and water main where needed, and upgrading the storm sewer sys- tems. The project, which was ap- proved in December 2009, was estimated to cost $3,057,600. Bids ranged from $2,819,703.75 to $3,713,734.65. The Council awarded the project to the low bidder. The project will be paid A summary of the Sept. 21 Edina City Council & HRA meeting Sept. 22, 2010 Volume 12, Issue 18 Council Connection Upcoming meetings: Energy & Environment Com- mission, 7 p.m. Sept. 22 Art Center Board, 4:30 p.m. Sept. 23 Human Rights & Relations Commission, 7 p.m. Sept. 28 Planning Commission, 7 p.m. Sept. 29 City Contacts Interim City Manager Heather Worthington 952-826-0415 City Clerk Debra Mangen 952-826-0408 Assistant to the City Manager Ceil Smith 952-826-0402 City Engineer/Public Works Director Wayne Houle 952-826-0443 Police Chief Jeff Long 952-826-0491 We’d like to hear from you … If you have any comments, call Communi-cations & Marketing Director Jennifer Bennerotte at 952-833-9520. The text of this publication will be available online at www.CityofEdina.com. www.CityofEdina.com using Municipal State Aid funds, special assessments and money from some of the City’s utility funds. The project will begin next spring. Landscaping for the project will be bid in 2011 and installed in the spring of 2012. Council amends warrants for multiway stop signs The Council approved a revised Multiway Stop Signs Traffic Policy to bring the City’s policy into alignment with the Minne- sota Manual of Uniform Traffic Control. The Multiway Stop Signs Policy is in place to provide fair and uniform treatment of all re- quests for multiway, all-way and four-way stop signs. Ac- cording to the policy, multiway stop signs can be an effective safety measure if properly war- ranted. However, they should not be installed where they may be ignored by drivers; needlessly interrupt traffic flow; and negatively impact fuel con- sumption, the environment or cause needless noise. A highlight of the revised policy is a reduction in the number of vehicles driving through the intersection to warrant a multi- way stop sign installation. Un- der the old policy, the volume entering the intersection from the major street approaches needed to average 500 vehi- cles per hour for eight hours of an average day. Under the new policy, 300 vehicles per hour for eight hours of an average day must travel through the intersection.