South metro briefs: Burnsville council seats open for filing

Two Burnsville City Council seats are open for election this fall. To file for candidacy, fill out an affidavit from the city clerk by June 3.

The seats are held by Dan Kealey and Bill Coughlin, both of whom have already filed for reelection.

Affidavits are available at City Hall, 100 Civic Center Pkwy., between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. The clerk's office will accept affidavits until 5 p.m. on June 3.

Candidates must be 21 and a resident of Burnsville. There is a $5 filing fee.

A municipal primary will be held Aug. 12 if five or more candidates file.

A public hearing is scheduled 9 a.m. June 9 before the Dakota County Board on the board's intention to trade land with Hastings farmer Bill Sorg in a final settlement of the county's use of eminent domain to acquire land from Sorg for a regional trail through Spring Lake Regional Park.

The proposal is for the county to exchange about 16 acres of agricultural land it owns for 8.35 acres owned by Sorg.

The Inver Glen Library in Inver Grove Heights will close temporarily beginning June 2 for construction crews to finish remodeling and for staff to prepare the new space. The library will reopen in August.

The remodeling, which began last fall, includes new public meeting spaces, an expanded teen area, a children's nook and a book drop with an automatic materials handling system that sorts returned items for quick return to the shelves.

Patrons who have reserved materials for pickup at the Inver Glen branch may pick them up at the Wentworth Library, 199 E. Wentworth Av., West St. Paul while Inver Glen is closed. Patrons may also pick up requested materials at other Dakota County library branches by changing the "Preferred Pickup Library" under their account at www.dakotacounty.us/library or by speaking with a library staff member.

Dakota County plans to lease 137 acres of land for agriculture within Whitetail Woods Regional Park this year. The park is planned to open to the public in September. In 2015, the county plans to convert the agricultural land to prairie and oak savanna, so it is requiring that all fields be planted this year in wheat using only nonresidual herbicides.

"This will facilitate prairie establishment by keeping weeds in check during 2014 with no damaging effects from herbicides and reduce erosion risk which might occur with row crops such as corn," according to a staff memo.

The event offers free food from Buca di Beppo, musical entertainment and activities for children, including coloring and a tour of a DARTS bus.

Burnsville has agreed to provide Savage with water through 2024.

The current agreement, signed in 2009, will expire this year. Since August 2009, Burnsville has provided Savage with 2.5 billion gallons of water. In 2013, Savage counted on Burnsville for about 79 percent of its potable water.

The new agreement limits daily water to Savage to 4 million gallons and limits the annual supply to 690 million gallons, down from 730 million gallons in the current agreement.

Savage will pay $62,667 per month in the first year of the contract. The amount will increase by 4 percent each year.