South metro briefs: Inver Grove Heights City Council approves two new park hires

In a routine vote Monday night, the City Council appointed a park superintendent and park maintenance coordinator.

Brian Swoboda, the appointed superintendent, has been with the city since 1997. Previously the maintenance coordinator, Swoboda replaces Mark Borgwardt, who retired last year.

Joe Hawkins, who's been a city employee since 2002, will fill the spot Swoboda left.

Both men have served in interim roles since April 12 and assumed their permanent roles Oct. 12.

EMMA NELSON

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community is burning some land this fall for environmental preservation.

The burns will take place mostly on tribal land, including 68 acres of reservation land at Tollefson Prairie, east of County Hwy. 21 and West of Pike Lake Road, as well as on four acres of Shakopee's Memorial Park Oak Savannah, north of Hwy. 101 and Shenandoah Road.

A 15,500-square-foot addition at St. Francis Regional Medical Center opened Monday featuring an expanded front entrance, coffee shop and pharmacy. The project is designed to free up space and expand an existing clinic. Construction began last December. Features include vaulted glass windows, terrazzo flooring and a color-changing fireplace.

NATALIE DAHER

Dakota County residents renewing their permits to carry a firearm will pay less next year.

A permit renewal will cost $50 in 2017, down from the current $75. The reduced price is a result of county investment in automated permit renewals, which have reduced staff time needed to complete the process.

Getting a new permit will still cost $75, and changing an address or getting a replacement permit card will still cost $10.

A crew from the Chaska public works department repaired Purple Brick Road, an access road to Chaska High School, after the street "just sort of crumbled apart" on Oct. 1 during the Ryder Cup, according to City Administrator Matt Podhradsky.

The street's collapse was likely the result of heavy rains in the days leading up to that Saturday, plus the extensive bus traffic during the big golf tournament, Podhradsky said.

Staff mended the road with a temporary patch, which he said "couldn't have cost more than $2000." A more permanent fix is the joint responsibility of the school district and PGA, the organization that organizes the Ryder Cup, he said.

ERIN ADLER

The Chanhassen City Council directed staff at an Oct. 10 work session to leave the Lake Susan archery range closed but to look for other possible range locations within city limits. Several City Council members, along with Mayor Denny Laufenburger, mentioned Lake Minnewashta Regional Park as a potential site.

ERIN ADLER

The Carver County Board approved an amendment to the Lake Waconia Regional Park master plan on Oct. 4 that includes development plans for Coney Island and changes to the 100-acre mainland space.

The island will include two visitor areas, Amblard's Point and Zeglin's Point. Amblard's Point is designed for day use and includes docks, bathrooms, picnic space and fishing piers while Zeglin's Point will offer campsites and snowmobile access.

The mainland portion incorporates beach area changes. Plans to move the proposed Waconia Event Center east of the existing ballroom are now sketched out in response to public sentiment, said Marty Walsh, parks and recreation director, but the building's new location hasn't been determined. The Metropolitan Council has final approval to the plan, which is still subject to change by the county, Walsh said.