City of New Hope

A publication of the city of New Hope, Minnesota e www.ci.new-hope.mn.us

Winter 2011-12Number 182

City of New Hope, Minnesota e Winter 2011-12

Some highlights of this issue include:Emergency Response Training New West Metro CERT program begins in MarchGood Citizenship Award Three volunteers receive award2012 Utility Rates Most rates unchanged, water rates increaseIn Business EFN named Outstanding Business, Open to Business provides technical assistance help to small businessesEmployee of the Quarter Carol Gass recognizedRecycling Changes More types of plastic accepted, no more trash at transfer station

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A great place to grow!4401 Xylon Avenue North

New Hope, MN 55428

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4The city will save more than $44,000 a year in energy costs by replacing two outdated Freon-based refrigeration sys-tems with a single energy-efficient ammonia-based system.

Prsrt StdU.S. Postage

PAIDTwin Cities, MNPermit No. 2330

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Current resident or

Following a budget hearing in early December, the New Hope City

Council adopted the 2012 property tax levy and budget on December 12. The Council approved a property tax levy of $9,228,730 – a zero percent increase compared to 2011. The approved 2012 budget of $10,312,863 represents an $18,864 decrease compared to the ad-opted 2011 budget. Although the city’s property tax bill will remain the same in 2012, some residents could see an increase in their 2012 property taxes even though their taxable market value decreases. These increases are primar-ily the result of the elimination of the Market Value Homestead Credit pro-gram by the Legislature last year. New Hope’s property tax levy increased 1.5 percent in 2011 compared to 2010. The 2011 budget eliminated $640,000 in Local Government Aid (LGA) as a revenue source, but included $335,252 in revenue from Market Value Home-stead Credit (MVHC). As a result of legislation enacted in July 2011, the city received $41,843 in LGA in 2011, but MVHC revenue was eliminated.

Councils reaffirm West Metro agreement

The New Hope and Crystal city councils adopted resolutions in

mid-December to reaffirm the West Metro Fire-Rescue District joint pow-ers agreement. The resolutions state that the two cities will provide each other with a list of issues and concerns relating to the district, and that the city councils will meet jointly during the first six months of 2012 to try and re-solve their differences.On November 15, 2011, the Crystal City Council stated its intention to withdraw from the West Metro Fire-Rescue Dis-trict at the end of 2012. On November 30, the New Hope and Crystal city councils met jointly with a mediator to discuss their differences concerning the district, and decided that it was in the best interest of both cities to avoid the dissolution and work to resolve those differences, if possible. The two councils met jointly in mid-January to begin to address issues and concerns.In the event the cities are unable to re-solve their differences concerning West Metro before August 31, 2012, both city councils have agreed to pass concurrent resolutions of dissolution. That resolu-tion would establish an orderly process and timeline for dissolution of the dis-trict and transition of the fire services for both cities. In the interim, the New Hope City Council wants to reassure residents that West Metro fire personnel will continue to provide the same excellent service that residents have come to expect over the last 13 years.

On December 29, Sears Holdings Corporation announced its inten-

tion to close four Kmart stores in Min-nesota and at least 100 Sears and Kmart stores nationwide, including the New Hope Kmart. No closing date has been announced for the New Hope store. The closure of the New Hope Kmart will, regrettably, put many people out of work. In many communities, the store closures will also create empty big-box retail buildings that will be dif-ficult to refill. New Hope hopes to avoid this problem. The city has already been in discussions with the owner of the New Hope Kmart property to potentially purchase and pursue redevelopment of the site. The New Hope City Council and city staff have long understood that the 14-acre Kmart site at 4300 Xylon Avenue is a key component to the redevelopment of New Hope’s City Center. At public open houses held as part of the City Cen-ter Transit Oriented Development

Council approves zero percent levy increase for 2012New Hope implemented a budget con-tingency plan to address the $293,417 shortfall in state aid. Because state aid has proven to be an unreliable revenue source in recent years, the 2012 budget does not include any state aid (includ-ing LGA and MVHC), even though the city is scheduled to receive $41,843 in LGA again this year.Although the 2012 budget is very lean, it continues to address priorities and initiatives for the current year and plans for the future. The major areas of focus for this year include:✦ Staff plans to continue existing ser-

vices and programs with reduced re-sources and minimal staffing changes.

✦ No new positions are budgeted.✦ No across the board wage increase

or increase in city health insurance contribution is planned in 2012.

✦ The money set aside to replace public works equipment has been reduced in 2012 to keep the levy low and because there is an adequate fund balance for equipment replacement.

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New Hope Kmart to close, city pursues purchaseStudy early last year, several residents and business people also expressed their desire for the Kmart site to be redeveloped.City staff began serious discussions with Gator Properties, the owner of the Kmart site, in September 2011. The city completed an appraisal of the property and is in the process of making an offer of $4.5 million for the property. Attor-neys for the city and the property owner are currently working through the de-tails of a possible purchase agreement.

Extensive improvements underway at ice arena

In September of 2011, the New Hope City Council

approved moving forward with extensive improve-ments at the New Hope Ice Arena. The improvements will not only ensure that the arena remains a vital and active part of the com-munity for years to come, but will include a number of energy-conservation improvements that will greatly reduce New Hope’s carbon footprint. The city has been able to leverage future energy savings to fi-nance much of the project with low-interest bonds, and New Hope has received a grant to help pay for the energy-efficiency improvements.

Planning for ImprovementsThe north rink at the New Hope Ice Arena was originally constructed in 1975. An increasing number of mainte-nance issues made it clear that the re-frigeration system for the north sheet of ice was nearing the end of its useful life and there were several other improve-ments that needed to be addressed. In early 2010, New Hope hired Stevens Engineering, who specialize in ice arena renovation, to complete an engineer-ing study that focused on making im-provements at the arena that are both effective and energy efficient. Stevens identified high-priority improvement needs at the arena and provided cost estimates for those improvements. Be-cause the study emphasized energy- efficient improvements, Xcel Energy paid about 75 percent of the study costs.

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City of New Hope, Minnesota e Winter 2011-12

Kathi Hemken Mayor763-537-7990 khemken@ci.new-hope.mn.us

John Elder Council Member763-442-0999 jelder@ci.new-hope.mn.us

Andy HoffeCouncil Member763-537-2647ahoffe@ci.new-hope.mn.us

Eric LammleCouncil Member763-544-0912elammle@ci.new-hope.mn.us

Frequently Called City NumbersGeneral Telephone ........... 763-531-5100Inspections ...........................763-531-5127building permits, complaintsParks and Recreation ........763-531-5151Public Works .......................763-592-6777sewer backup, snowplowing, forestryUtility Billing ........................763-531-5132Police (non-emergency) ....763-531-5170TTY (through MN Relay) ...651-602-9005

Kirk McDonaldCity Manager763-531-5112kmcdonald@ci.new-hope.mn.us

City Hall Address 4401 Xylon Avenue NorthNew Hope, MN 55428City Websitewww.ci.new-hope.mn.usTell us what you think...24-Hour Opinion Line .... 763-531-5102E-mail .......cityhall@ci.new-hope.mn.us

Daniel StaunerCouncil Member763-536-1415dstauner@ci.new-hope.mn.us

The cities of New Hope and Crystal and West Metro Fire-Rescue have

teamed up to form the West Metro Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and to provide disaster training for New Hope and Crystal resi-dents. Applications are currently being accepted for the first CERT training session the weekend of March 9 to 11.The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and res-cue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT members can assist others in their neighborhood or work-place following an event when profes-sional responders are not immediately available to help. CERT members also are encouraged to support emergency response agencies by taking a more ac-tive role in emergency preparedness projects in their community. The first West Metro CERT basic train-ing course is scheduled from 5 to 9 p.m. on Friday, March 9, and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 10 and Sunday, March 11. The course will

CERT program teaches citizens how to help in disasters

be at a location to be determined in ei-ther Crystal or New Hope. Participants will need to provide proof that they have completed the online portion of the course before participat-ing in the classroom training. The course is free, and open to anyone 15 and older (youth 15 to 18 must be accompanied by an adult). There are many jobs within a community emer-

gency response team suitable for both older adults and those with physical limitations. Applications for the basic CERT course are available on the city’s website at www.ci.new-hope.mn.us/cert or by calling 763-531-5170. The deadline for applications is February 10, or when spaces fill.Residents who graduate from the basic CERT course will receive CERT equip-ment and be advised of ongoing training and exercises as they become available. Bimonthly meetings will provide an op-portunity for CERT team members to network and for ongoing training.For more information about CERT, visit the website www.citizencorps.gov/cert. The West Metro CERT program is made possible by a grant from the Minnesota Department of Homeland Security.

In December, the City Council set the rates New Hope utility customers

will pay in 2012. The rates for sanitary sewer treatment, storm drainage, recy-cling and street lights will all remain the same in 2012. Water rates will in-crease 7 percent to resolve a deficit in the water fund and provide adequate funding for ongoing maintenance and improvements to the city’s water sys-tem. For most residential utility cus-tomers, this will result in their utility bill going up a few dollars a month.The water fund began 2011 with a cash deficit, which increased in 2011 due to expenditures for capital improvement projects. In addition, the price the Joint Water Commission cities of New Hope, Crystal and Golden Valley are scheduled to pay the city of Minneapolis for water will increase by 4.1 percent in 2012. An increase in 2012 water rates is needed in order to make the city’s water fund self supporting.New Hope’s water bill includes a basic service fee and a volume fee, based on the number of gallons of water a customer uses. The basic water service fee will increase from $5.72 to $6.12 in 2012. New Hope implemented a state-mandated water conservation fee schedule in 2010. The price

Council holds the line on most 2012 utility ratesWater rates to increase 7 percent

residential customers pay per 1,000 gal-lons of water gets progressively more ex-pensive depending on whether they use less than 10,000 gallons, between 10,000 and 20,000 gallons, or more than 20,000 gallons per month. Those rates will all increase 7 percent in 2012 (see the table below). Commercial water rates will also increase 7 percent in 2012.The total utility bill for a residential customer who uses 6,000 gallons of water a month will increase about $2.25 a month in 2012. Residential cus-tomers who do a lot of watering in the summer months, with usage of 18,000 gallons a month, will see their utility bill increase about $6 a month in 2012.The water rate increases will first ap-pear on the utility bill that customers receive in early March 2012 (for water used in January 2012).

2012 2011

Base Water Fee $6.12 $5.72Residential Volume 1-10,000 gal. $4.50 $4.21

Residential Volume 10,000-20,000 gal. $4.90 $4.58

Residential Volume 20,000+ or Irrigation $5.51 $5.15

State Water Testing Fee $0.53 $0.53

The New Hope City Council pre-sented the first three New Hope

Good Citizenship Awards to Charlotte Randolph, Paj Lor and Joel Vodis at its meeting on November 28. The City Council created the Good Citizenship Award program in Sep-tember to recognize individuals who exemplify good citizenship through their volunteer work in New Hope. The Council recognizes that the strength of a community is dependent upon a strong network of citizens who devote time and effort to improve the quality of life by helping others.

Charlotte Ran-dolph was rec-ognized for her volunteer work with the English as a Second Lan-guage program at the Winnetka Learning Cen-

ter, at the NEAR food shelf, and her fundraising for a program at Meadow Lake Elemen-tary School which provides children with weekend snack packs to prevent hunger.

Both Paj Lor and Joel Vodis are students at Cooper High School who volunteer for a number of service projects that benefit other students and the commu-nity including turkey bingo, raking, the Cooper day of service and others. The New Hope Good Citizenship Award is open to anyone who volun-teers to improve the quality of life in New Hope by helping others, protect-ing the environment, providing oppor-tunities for youth or exemplifying good citizenship. Nominations for the award are accepted throughout the year and reviewed by the City Council. Award recipients receive a certificate and are recognized at a council meeting. For more information about the program or a nomination form, visit the city’s website at www.ci.new-hope.mn.us or call the city clerk at 763-531-5117.

Three volunteers receive New Hope Good Citizenship Award

Charlotte Randolph

Paj Lor Joel Vodis

At the recommendation of the city’s bond counsel, the New Hope

City Council recently authorized the refunding of two Tax Increment Fi-nancing bond issues to lower the city’s future debt service costs. The city will refund $2.76 million in Series 2004 on taxable, general obligation TIF bonds, which helped finance the Winnetka Green townhome project, with similar Series 2012A bonds. The city will also refund $1.33 million in Series 2005A

taxable, general obligation bonds, which helped finance the Linden Place condominium project on Boone Ave-nue, with similar 2012B bonds. As part of the bonding process, New Hope's bond rating was reaffirmed by Standard and Poor's at AA, which is exceptional for a smaller city. The city expects to save about $271,000 by paying off the two bond issues and replacing them with refunding bonds at currently pre-vailing interest rates.

City lowers interest on debt by refunding bonds

For more information about city of New Hope programs and services, visit the city's website at www.ci.new-hope.mn.us

In Business e Winter 2011-12

Emergency Foodshelf Network receives Outstanding Business Award

Technical assistance program will soon be "Open to Business"

Mayor Hemken (front left) presents a plaque to Lori Kratchmer, EFN executive director, acompanied by council members Hoffe, Lammle and Elder (not pictured council member Stauner).

New Hope Business HighlightsLDI Family Business AwardIn November, Twin Cities Business magazine recognized five outstanding, family-owned businesses for the value they add to Minnesota's economy and overall quality of life. New Hope's Lib-erty Diversified International (LDI) was honored as one of the finalists in the 2011 Minnesota Family Business Awards. LDI is a $500 million producer of cor-rugated cartons, plastic extrusion products, health care equipment, office products and high-tech machine tools. Mike Fiterman became CEO of the company started in 1918 by his grandfa-ther in 1983. Three family members are among the company's 1,600 employees. Fiterman explained his family's com-mitment to the business, "Being involved in our business was not an ob-ligation and not a birthright, but rather a responsibility to embrace." Congratu-lations Mike Fiterman and LDI!

Sealed Mindset CUPIn December, the City Council ap-proved a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for Sealed Mindset Training to operate a firearms training facility as part of their business at the recently renovated building at 5121 Winnetka Avenue N. The firearms training is considered a

The New Hope City Council presented

Emergency Foodshelf Network with the Fall 2011 New Hope Outstanding Business Award in November.Emergency Foodshelf Network (EFN) was founded in 1976 to support 12 Hennepin County foodshelves. Today, EFN is a full service food bank that provides quality, nutri-tious food and support services to over 230 hunger relief programs including foodshelves, on-site meal programs, and reduced cost grocery distribution sites throughout the state. EFN has been based at 8501 54th Av-enue North in New Hope since 2004. The food bank provides more than $7 million in support and services to its member agencies each year. With a modest staff of 32 full and part-time employees and more than 13,000 vol-unteers (in 2010), EFN puts 92 cents of every dollar donated directly into pro-grams serving hungry families. In addition to passing along donated food, providing bulk purchasing oppor-tunities and free or subsidized delivery to member agencies, EFN has several other noteworthy programs:✦ Fare For All makes fresh fruit and

vegetables and frozen meat available to everyone at up to 40 percent off grocery store prices. Fare For All events are held every other Monday in New Hope.

✦ Harvest for Hungry provides fresh locally-grown produce to Minnesota families facing hunger through a partnership with local farmers.

✦ Baskets of Hope provides about 5,000 families facing hunger with holiday meals.

✦ Mobile Foodshelf distributes emer-gency food to about 9,000 low income individuals who have trouble access-ing food from traditional foodshelves.

Multicultural Mobile Foodshelf dis-tributes culturally appropriate foods to East and West African and Latino communities in the Twin Cities.

✦ Lost Harvest rescues and redis-tributes about 1 million pounds of fresh produce grown in Mexico and shipped to the U.S. that otherwise would go to waste.

The City Council applauded Emergency Foodshelf Network for the fine work it does with local food shelves at PRISM, NEAR and with other agencies. The Council also noted how EFN stepped forward this spring to provide space in front of its building for the Hope Grows Community Garden. By providing a location for the garden plots, EFN was instrumental in helping the new com-munity garden to get started in 2011.EFN was nominated for the Outstand-ing Business Award by Thomas Mercier, president of Hope Grows. Lori Kratch-mer, executive director of EFN accepted the award and thanked the City Council. The New Hope Outstanding Business Award is a quarterly award to recognize the contributions of New Hope busi-nesses to the community and to en-courage other businesses to rise to the excellence achieved by the award recipi-ents. To learn more about Emergency Foodshelf Network, visits its website at www.emergencyfoodshelf.org.

It’s a simple but important concept: helping small business owners get

access to the business assistance they need can help to create local jobs, ex-pand the tax base, and increase the vitality of the community. Yet, it has always been a challenge for a smaller community like New Hope to provide as much in the way of technical busi-ness assistance as it would like. In September, New Hope partnered with the city of Golden Valley to apply for matching funds from the Hennepin County Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) to bring Open to Business, a one-stop shop for business services, to our communities. The joint application has been approved, and the program will begin providing services to local business people beginning in March 2012.Open to Business began as a partner-ship between the city of Brooklyn Park and the nonprofit community devel-opment organization Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers (MCCD) in early 2010. Through the partnership, MCCD provides direct, one-on-one technical assistance ser-vices to aspiring entrepreneurs and small businesses. The Open to Business model has since expanded to the cit-

ies of Minnetonka and St. Louis Park. With financial support from Hennepin County HRA, Open to Business will soon launch in several additional cities.Open to Business staff can help aspir-ing entrepreneurs work through the critical business hurdles that must be overcome in order to realize their vi-

sion. They provide intensive, one-on-one consulting at no cost to the

business person, and stay with them all the way through the pro-cess. MCCD’s business advisors have also been successful in helping existing businesses

that are stuck in their development. The range of services Open to Business provides include: business plan devel-opment, feasibility studies, cash flow and financing projections, marketing, preparing loan requests, and advocacy with lending institutions. MCCD also has a micro loan program to provide direct financing or credit enhance-ment. Open to Business staff will likely have open office hours alternating be-tween the New Hope and Golden Val-ley city halls one day each month.For more information about Open to Business, call the New Hope Commu-nity Development Department, 763-531-5110.

commercial recreation use in an indus-trial zoning district. Sealed Mindset, owned by a former Navy Seal, provides innovative personal safety, crime avoidance and defense skills training. Sealed Mindset Training (SMT) is a collaboration between Sealed Mindset and Range Systems, a global leader in the safe design and building of live firearms training facilities also lo-cated at 5121 Winnetka. SMT will train citizens in proper use of handguns and avoidance of unsafe situations.

State of the CityNew Hope business people are invited to attend the New Hope State of the City presentation from 7:30 to 9 a.m. on Tuesday, February 7, at New Hope City Hall, 4401 Xylon Avenue N. The presentation provides a review of the city's accomplishments in 2011.

Participate in Remodeling FairSpace is available for home improvement or landscaping businesses interested in participating in the 20th annual North-west Suburban Remodeling Fair on March 31, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Crys-tal Community Center, 4800 Douglas Drive. For more information or to regis-ter, call Beth Nelson at 651-638-1956 or nwremodelingfair@comcast.net.

A new CVS pharmacy opened at Midland Shopping Center, 7932 27th Avenue N. on January 8. A vacant Snyder Drug store and a transmission shop at the northwest corner of Winnetka and Medicine Lake Road were demol-ished to make room for the new 13,225 square foot store and pharmacy drive through.

City of New Hope, Minnesota e Winter 2011-12

2012 Budget (continued from page 1)

Gass named Employee of the Quarter

Carol Gass

Accounting technician Carol Gass was named Employee of the

Quarter for the third quarter of 2011 for her willingness to take on extra responsibilities while the utility billing clerk was out on leave.As the only remaining staff person in the city’s Finance Department, Carol Gass routinely juggles the responsibil-ity for accounts payable and receivable as well as payroll. During the tempo-rary absence of the utility billing clerk,

Gass also took on the responsibility for answering water bill questions, sending out utility bills and processing pay-ments. Through her extra effort, she kept both utility billing and finance running smoothly.Her nominator noted, “This is an espe-cially busy time of year in utility billing because of the certification of delin-quent utility bills. Through it all, Carol just keeps going, never complaining, and always with a smile. She just does what she is asked to, does it accurately, and does it well.”This is the fourth time Carol Gass has been recognized as Employee of the Quarter. She also received the award in 2003, 2007 and 2009. And in 2004, she was named New Hope Employee of the Year. She has been with the city of New Hope for almost 14 years.Recipients of New Hope Employee of the Quarter recognition are nomi-nated by coworkers and selected by a committee with representatives from each city department. Congratula-tions to Carol Gass for being selected Employee of the Quarter for the third quarter of 2011!

Plastic recycling changesAs of January 1, residents can now recycle nearly all plastic food and beverage containers at curbside. This includes butter tubs, yogurt cups, medicine bottles, and other containers marked with a recycling symbol from 1 through 7 on the bottom. Styrofoam containers, plastic bags, or any con-tainer that has had oil or any household hazardous waste in it still may not be recycled. Please rinse containers before placing them in your recycling bin. For additional information, call the Hen-nepin Recycling Group (HRG) office at 763-493-8006.Transfer station no longer accepts trashResidents can no longer drop off trash at the Hennepin County Recycling Center and Transfer Station in Brook-lyn Park, effective January 3, 2012. The portion of the facility previously used for residential trash drop-off has been leased to Rational Energies, a company that will use the space to separate and

Recycling and waste disposal newsrecover metal and plastic recyclable materials from residential garbage haulers. Rational expects to recycle 8,000 tons of metal and plastic and con-vert 14,000 tons of plastic into fuel each year. The new sorting process should help the county meet its new goal to recycle 45 percent of its solid waste stream by 2015. For other nearby trash disposal options consider the Waste Management Maple Grove Transfer Station at 10633 89th Avenue N (763-425-3736), visit hennepin.us and search for “A-Z How to Get Rid of It Guide,” or call 612-348-3777.

Recycle guide and calendarsHRG recently published its 2012-13 Recycling Guide. The guides are avail-able at City Hall, on the city’s website at www.ci.new-hope.mn.us, or by call-ing 763-493-8006. HRG mailed out the 2012 Recycling Calendar in December, the dates are also on the city’s online calendar. Residents who did not receive a calendar and would like a printed copy can contact the HRG office.

✦ Police, fire and emergency manage-ment preparedness continue to be high priorities.

✦ Property maintenance and redevelop- ment also continue to be high priorities.

✦ The city’s phone system is obsolete and will be replaced in 2012.

City staff will continue to take steps to make the budget easier to understand, including the addition of a five-year financial plan to demonstrate to the public the results of current budget ac-tions and provide scenarios for future actions.The 2012 city of New Hope budget is available for review on the city’s web-site at www.ci.new-hope.mn.us or at City Hall.

The Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority will hold a se-

ries of “scoping” open houses in late January to kick off an Environmental Impact Statement process as it's plan-ning for improvements along the Bot-tineau Transitway continues.Hennepin County has been analyzing the best way to accommodate the an-ticipated growth in traffic volume along the Bottineau Avenue corridor for sev-eral years. In 2008, the county began an Alternative Analysis Study to identify a range of transit options and routes that should be considered along the Bottineau corridor to meet long range transit needs between the northwest suburbs and downtown Minneapolis. The Alternative Analysis Study, which was completed in 2010, narrowed the options to four possible light rail tran-sit (LRT) routes and one possible bus rapid transit route. While the remain-ing options have two possible northern origination points – in Maple Grove or Brooklyn Park, and two different southern segments, they all share a common center segment along the west side of Bottineau Boulevard through southern Brooklyn Park, Crystal and Robbinsdale.Scoping is the process of determining the content of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Bot-tineau Transitway project. Because the project could have significant environ-mental impacts and would involve fed-eral funding, an EIS is required. As the first step in the scoping process, inter-ested members of the public are invited to participate in the evaluation of the Bottineau Transitway’s environmental impacts. The purpose of scoping is to confirm the purpose and need for the project, identify appropriate alternatives that could address project needs, focus

Scoping open houses next step in Bottineau Transitway planning

on potentially significant issues that should be studied in the draft EIS, and eliminate issues that are not significant or have already been addressed. The scoping open houses dates and lo-cations in the area are:✦ January 23, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. – Theo-

dore Wirth Chalet, 1301 Theodore Wirth Parkway

✦ January 24, 6 to 8 p.m. – Brooklyn Park City Hall, 5200 85th Avenue N

✦ January 31, 6 to 8 p.m. – Robbinsdale City Hall, 4100 Lakeview Avenue N

Interested persons or groups can also submit comments in writing to project manager Brent Rusco by email at brent.rusco@co.hennepin.mn.us, by fax at 612-348-9710 or by mail.For more information about Bottineau Transitway planning, the scoping pro-cess and the draft Environmental Im-pact Statement, visit the website www.bottineautransitway.org or call 612-543-0579.

In November 2010, the city hired Ste-vens to provide specific recommenda-tions and details for a first phase of improvements at the New Hope Arena. Stevens collaborated with McKinstry, an energy services firm, to develop a project that would leverage future energy savings that would result from energy-efficiency improvements at the arena and other city facilities to pay for the improvements themselves.

Maintenance issues to be addressedThe project involves replacing the sand foundation and refrigeration pipes be-neath the north sheet of ice with new pipes in a concrete floor. Concrete blocks on the building's exterior wall will be replaced. Some drainage im-provements will be made, and the exte-rior of the arena will be painted. The first maintenance project to be ad-dressed at the arena was replacement of the roof over the north ice sheet, which had started to leak. Installation of a new metal roof was completed in December 2011.

Arena project includes many green, energy-efficient componentsWhen McKinstry became involved in the New Hope Ice Arena project, one of the first things they did was perform an energy audit of the ice arena and all city of New Hope facilities. The audit identified a number of opportunities for energy savings. Replacing the separate Freon-based refrigeration systems for the two ice sheets with one, state-of-the-art system shared by the two rinks will result in the most dramatic energy savings. Other energy-conservation improve-ments at the arena include:✦ upgrading interior and exterior

lighting ✦ water conservation improvements✦ vending machine conservation

improvements✦ and, sealing up air spaces near the

roof that were previously needed to prevent the buildup of condensation.

Ice Arena (continued from page 1) The project will also include about $340,000 in energy efficiency improve-ments to City Hall, the golf course clubhouse, the New Hope pool, and the public works maintenance facility.All of the energy-efficiency improve-ments at the ice arena and other city fa-cilities will pay for themselves through energy savings in a short to moderate amount of time. After the energy im-provements are complete, the city will save about $71,000 in utility costs and $122,000 in operation and mainte-nance costs each year.The project will greatly reduce New Hope's carbon footprint. The energy efficiency improvements at the arena alone will save the amount of energy used by 82 homes, and emit about 1.4 million pounds less carbon monoxide into the atmosphere each year.

Project financingThe ice arena project will involve a little over $4 million worth of improvements. Because most of the improvements will result in significant energy savings, New Hope has been authorized by the Minnesota Office of Management and Budget to issue $3.5 million in Quali-fied Energy Conservation Bonds, with an interest rate of about 1 percent, to cover most of the project costs. The bonds will be repaid with the guaran-teed energy savings that will result from the energy conservation improvements. In December, New Hope received a $275,000 Youth Sports Grant from Hen-nepin County to help pay for the energy-efficiency improvements at the arena. The remainder of the project costs will be covered by the city's Park Infra-structure Fund, Liquor Reserve Fund, and possibly other city revenue sources.Project timelineWhile the roof replacement for the north rink and light replacement at the south rink has already been completed, most of the remainder of the improve-ments will begin in March 2012. The project is scheduled to be substantially complete before the peak season for hockey begins in August of 2012.