Official web site of the City of Medina, Minnesota.
April 14, 2020 Planning Commission Meeting at 7:00 PM – Held Telephonically
Join Microsoft Teams Meeting (if you do not have Teams, you can still join as a guest)
+1 612-517-3122 Enter Conference ID: 460 397 077#
More information will be available by April 7th on this page.
A study is underway for the Tamarack Drive corridor from Hamel Road to Meander Road. The study includes defining a future road connection between Highway 55 and Meander Road. The purpose of the study is to create a cohesive plan that can be provided to property owners and developers guiding the look and feel of the corridor, street section, right-of-way needs, public utilities, and vehicular access spacing as this area develops.
We would like your input to help define the overall look and feel of Tamarack Drive between Highway 55 and Meander Road before the area develops.
To participate, take the Survey and leave your thoughts on the Idea Wall (link: https://wsb.mysocialpinpoint.com/tamarackdrive). The Survey and Idea Wall will be open through April 20.
In addition to this site, an open house will be held on April 14th from 5:00pm to 6:45pm at City Hall. Depending on CDC guidelines regarding public gatherings, the in-person open house may need to be held virtually. This site will be updated with revised details prior to the event.
MEDINA CITY COUNCIL AND COMMISSION MEETINGS TO BE HELD TELEPHONICALLY DURING CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK
Mayoral Declaration No 2020-01 finding local emergency exists at the City of Medina, Minnesota
Resolution Extending Mayor Declared Local Emergency
(Excerpts from State Statutes in reference to emergency declarations and telephonic meetings)
Dear Friends and Neighbors:
As you are already aware, the COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic is an unprecedented situation for all of us in Minnesota. We, at City Hall, have been monitoring developments surrounding the outbreak, particularly since last Friday. While there is a great deal of uncertainty about this virus and how it spreads, the safety of our staff and our community is our highest priority.
Our Police Department, Fire Departments and Public Works Department have made preparation for continued service to our residents during this health crisis, and they are coordinating with other departments within Hennepin County to maintain service if available personnel or equipment dwindles over time. Please help us to keep our officers and workers healthy by avoiding personal contact, limiting your inquiries to matters requiring immediate attention and recognizing that we may well be working with less than a full complement of officers, public works personnel, and other staff. North Memorial Ambulance Service will continue to handle health-related emergency calls in our area.
We have worked this past week to equip City staff who are capable of working from home with the necessary tools to do so. Should you need to make contact with any of us, we are available through email and phone communications. Again, because our staff’s capacity could decline over the next few weeks, I ask that you limit your inquiries to only essential and emergency matters and continually check our City’s website for updates, and we will do our best to respond to your needs.
In light of the alarming increase in confirmed coronavirus cases in Minnesota in the past few days and Governor Walz’ emergency declaration, City Administrator Scott Johnson, City Attorney Ron Batty and I, as your mayor, have jointly concluded that it is not prudent at this time to hold in-person City Council, Planning Commission or Park Commission meetings, which could possibly expose our staff, our commission and council members and our residents and their families to unnecessary risk of infection. Accordingly (and pursuant to Minnesota Statutes Section 13D.021), until further notice and commencing with the City Council Meeting scheduled for March 17, 2020, all future meetings of the Medina City Council, Planning Commission and Park Commission will be held telephonically.
Our staff and IT consultant are working on means to permit the residents of Medina to nonetheless monitor the telephonic meetings while they are occurring, and more information on electronic or telephonic access to the meetings will be posted on the City’s website at https://medinamn.us/citygov/agenda-n-minutes/featured-page-3/. As always, a recording of each of our council and commission meetings will be posted to the City’s website within a few days following each meeting.
We have no public hearings scheduled for our March 17th City Council Meeting, but we may have a need to have public hearings at either the Planning Commission or City Council during the period of time that meetings will be held telephonically. Our staff and IT consultant are determining how we can accommodate public input if those hearings are required, but should you have comments you would otherwise seek to present at a live council or commission meeting, please provide them via email to Scott Johnson, Medina City Administrator (scott.johnson@medinamn.gov), to me (kathleen.martin@medinamn.gov), or to any other commissioner or council member, as appropriate, and we will strive to circulate your comments to the applicable staff, commission or city council members. Please know that our Minnesota open meeting law prohibits three or more members of any of our commissions or council from conversing on policy matters outside a public forum, and thus you may not receive responses from all commissioners or council members to whom you write, but we will read all your comments.
We had planned to recognize our Police Chief, Ed Belland, on 28 years of service to the City at our March 17th City Council meeting, but have postponed that event to a future date (to be determined), knowing that many members of our community will want to be present for that ceremony to thank Chief Belland for all his outstanding dedication to our community.
Our first responders have asked us to remind you to keep your social distance and avoid unnecessary contact with others, wash your hands regularly, cover your cough and, if you are feeling ill, stay home.
All of us at the City hope you do your best to stay healthy, and we remain committed to providing you the best possible service during this challenging time.
Sincerely,
-Kathy Martin
Mayor, City of Medina
Kathleen.Martin@medinamn.gov
Additional Resources and Information
The Medina Local Board of Appeal and Equalization meeting will be held telephonically on Wednesday, April 8, 2020 at 6:30 p.m. See call-in instructions below. There will be no physical meeting, so residents wishing to participate must do so by calling into the meeting after completing the three steps below in advance of the meeting date.
Property owners desiring to appeal your 2020 valuation or classification to the Medina Local Board of Appeals and Equalization must follow the three steps outlined below:
Appearing before the Board: You may appear before the Board on April 8, 2020 at 6:30 p.m. via telephone by dialing 1-612-517-3122 and entering Conference ID: 365 668 438# or by letter by submitting an application and supporting evidence before 4:30 p.m. on April 8th.
Instructions during the telephonic meeting: The meeting moderator will mute all microphones to keep ambient noise to a minimum. If you would like to speak to appeal your property value or classification, please send an email with your name and property address within the first ten minutes of the meeting to Mayor Kathleen Martin (kathleen.martin@medinamn.gov) or City Administrator Scott Johnson (scott.johnson@medinamn.gov). When it is your turn to address the Board, you will be called upon to unmute your microphone by dialing *6. When you are done speaking, you should dial *6 to re-mute your microphone.
Reconvened Meeting Date: The City Council has scheduled a continuation of the Board of Appeal and Equalization meeting to be held on April 21, 2020 at 6 p.m. This meeting will allow the board to reconvene at a later date for the purpose of considering the appeals that were presented on April 8th, but new appeals will not be heard at the reconvened meeting. All appeals must first be brought to the April 8th meeting.
More Information regarding appealing your valuation or classification can be found in this handout: Board of Appeal and Equalization – Informational Handout for 2020
Spring Weight Restrictions on Medina roads will go into effect on March 9, 2020 at 12:01 a.m.
There will be NO permits issued, other than for emergency utility situations.
During spring weight restrictions, City of Medina streets are limited to 4-ton axle weight unless explicitly identified with a higher allowance. In the case of any inconsistency between the 2020 City of Medina Weight Restrictions Map and posted signage, enforcement will be based upon posted signage.
The reason for the restrictions is to protect our roads and keep the cost of road repair down for all taxpayers. We ask all of our residents and business owners to keep an eye out for large trucks using the roads during this period. If you see them using a restricted road, please call 9-1-1 to report it immediately. Help protect our roads!
The Medina Police Department hosts an annual Bicycle Safety Rodeo in hopes to educate children ages 3 to 12 to ride their bikes safer and smarter for the summer months.
The Bike Safety Rodeo is scheduled for Saturday, May 2, 2020 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. inside the Medina Police/Public Works Garage at 600 Clydesdale Trail.
The event is free and is intended to have your children ages 3-12 polish up their bicycle skills before summer kicks into full gear. Bikes will also be inspected at the event. Children will get the opportunity to go through various obstacles that children may face every day while riding their bike such as safely leaving your driveway and making a quick stop. Come for family fun, education on bicycle safety, and prizes. The best part is it’s FREE!
Registration Form – Please pre-register by April 24th or register at the event.
Questions? Call Medina Community Service Officer Patrick Johnson at 763-473-9209 or email Patrick.johnson@medinamn.gov
The City’s annual Spring Clean-up Day will be held on Saturday, April 25, 2020 from 8:00 AM until 12:00 PM (rain or shine). The event will take place at the Public Works/Police Facility at 600 Clydesdale Trail. Event details, pricing, and a list of accepted/non-accepted items can be found in the Spring Clean up Day Brochure
Please Note: We are closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation daily and are following the CDC guidelines regarding public gatherings and events. Any status changes to this event will be posted to this page.
The event will include:
The U.S. Census counts every resident in the United States. As mandated by the U.S. Constitution, America gets just one chance each decade to count its population. The results of the census determine the number of seats for each state in the U.S. House of Representatives and are used to draw congressional and state legislative districts. Federal agencies use the results to distribute more than $675 billion in federal funds each year.
Why the Census is Important
Representation
Census data determines the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as districts for state government.
Funding
Census data guides federal spending allocation of approximately $589 billion to local communities every year.
Planning
Census data helps plan roads, schools, hospitals, senior centers, and emergency services to best serve changing populations.
Business
Census data assists businesses in locating factories & stores, recruiting employees, and conducting market research.
How the 2020 Census will Invite Everyone to Respond
Every household will have the option to respond by responding online, by mail, or by phone. Nearly every household will receive an invitation to participate in the 2020 Census from either a postal worker or a census worker.
2020 Census Fact Sheet: How Census Invites Everyone
Address Canvassing to Start in August 2019; What is address canvassing?
Address canvassing is the process by which the U.S. Census Bureau validates, corrects, or deletes existing Census Bureau addresses, adds missing addresses, and adds or corrects locations of specific addresses before a decennial census. In previous address canvassing operations, field representatives traversed every road and visited each residential address in the United States. At this time, only select addresses will be canvassed. Census Bureau employees will not be asking for information about individuals but rather about addresses and habitable locations.
How to verify employment
We realize that Census workers may draw the attention of residents or law enforcement personnel who are concerned about the presence of strangers in their neighborhoods. Each temporary decennial Census employee will have an official identification card with the employees name, picture, and an expiration date. Regional level staff can be identified by their Personal Identity Verification (PIV) Card. Both temporary and regional level staff can be identified by their laptop computer with a Census Bureau logo on the top, and a black canvas bag with a Census Bureau logo.
TO VERIFY AN EMPLOYEE WITH THIS TYPE OF ID:
Chicago Regional Census Center
175 West Jackson Blvd., Suite 600
Chicago, IL 60604
1-312-579-1500
Residents may drop off brush or compost Tuesday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (except holidays) and Friday 7 a.m. to Monday 3:30 p.m. (open all weekend during daylight hours).
It is located behind the shop building northwest of City Hall, 2052 County Road 24, Medina, MN 55340.
Accepted Items
Brush Pile – brush, woody shrubs, vines, Christmas trees & large logs
Compost Pile – leaves and grass clippings (no bags & no straw)
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently completed a multiyear project to re-examine flood risks throughout Hennepin County and develop electronic flood hazard maps, which will become effective on November 4, 2016.
Federal law mandates that any federally regulated or insured lender require any property with a structure within the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) on these maps to carry flood insurance.
Most mortgage lenders will check their loans when the updated maps become effective on November 4, 2016. Lenders will likely send a letter to all properties in SFHA, and other properties that are even close to the SFHA, to notify them that they must purchase flood insurance within 45 days. If a policy is not purchased within this time period, the lender will “force place” a policy, which is normally much more expensive.
Flood insurance is available through your agent or one of the agents listed by searching the “Agent Finder” section of FEMA’s Flood Insurance website, FloodSmart.gov. If you have any kind of risk for flood damages, both in or out of the floodplain, the city encourages you to purchase flood insurance.
If you live near a lake, stream, or large wetland, you are encouraged to investigate whether your property may be “newly mapped” within the SFHA. View the floodplain map to find your property on the map.
What to do if you believe you’ve been inadvertently included in the Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA)?
There are often scenarios where the boundaries of the floodplain do not accurately reflect the true topographic characteristics of a site. In addition, it is likely that lenders will be fairly conservative when determining if a property may require flood insurance.
In much of the county, the boundaries of the floodplain have not been updated with better elevation information since they were originally mapped in the early 1980’s. This newest map update merely digitized these areas – making them easier for everyone to view. If you believe your structure and/or parcel is higher than the actual flood elevation, there is a procedure for appeals known as a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA). Traditionally, a LOMA involves hiring a surveyor to verify the lowest ground touching the structure, deck or stairs is above the 100-year flood elevation.
Under the right circumstances, the city may be able to assist with collecting data rather than hiring a surveyor. City staff may be able to use LiDAR-derived contour elevations from the Minnesota DNR to verify that a structure is above the 100-year flood elevation.
If you have any questions, please contact City Planner Dusty Finke at 763-473-8846 or dusty.finke@ci.medina.mn.us.