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West metro briefs: Golden Valley will show Brookview plans at open house

February 20, 2016 at 4:54AM

Golden Valley officials will give residents their first glimpse at plans for the new $18.2 million Brookview Community Center at an open house this week.

The City Council approved a general design plan and contract in December for the project, which is expected to begin in October.

Officials hope to get feedback from residents that can be used in shaping the final design, scheduled to be unveiled at a public meeting in June.

The open house will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday at the current Brookview center, 200 Brookview Pkwy. S.

The center is just north of the site where the new one will go up. Officials have discussed replacing the center, portions of which were built nearly a century ago, for at least a couple of years.

The new 37,000-square-foot structure will be nearly double the size of the current center, which won't be razed until the new building opens in the fall of 2017.

The city will pay for the new center with a 20-year lease-purchase loan through its Housing and Redevelopment Authority. Financing for the project will result in a property tax hike of about $9 a month for a median-valued $250,000 home.

For more information, go to www.goldenvalleymn.gov/recreation/brookview/brookview-study.php/.

KEVIN DUCHSCHERE

WAYZATA

Meeting to be held on lakefront upgrade

Wayzata will host its third and final community meeting Feb. 23 to discuss the Lake Minnetonka city's plans for revitalizing its lakefront.

The meeting will unveil drawings of project designs that include a lakewalk, restored shoreline, measures to make Lake Street more pedestrian- and bike-friendly and an ecological park near the old railroad building.

It's part of the city's 10-year concept plan, called the Lake Effect, approved by the City Council in March 2014. It aims to make the city a year-round destination and the lakefront more accessible to downtown (from which it's divided by rail tracks).

The meeting will run from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at Wayzata City Hall, 600 E. Rice St. The plans are expected to go to the City Council in April.

KELLY SMITH

EXCELSIOR

Water Street's history to be featured in talk

The Excelsior-Lake Minnetonka Historical Society will host an event next month featuring longtime business owners Darel and Laverna Leipold.

The couple will discuss the merchants and businesses that have been on Excelsior's main street, Water Street, the past 150 years.

The free event, part of the historical society's monthly "Tapping History" series, will take place at 7 p.m. March 14 at Excelsior Brewing, 421 3rd St., Excelsior. For more information, send an e-mail to info@elmhs.org or call 952-221-4766.

KELLY SMITH

MINNEAPOLIS

Code-a-thon event to be held at the U

For the second year, the Twin Cities will host a coding event.

The free open data code-a-thon event, "Geo: Code 2.0," will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 5-6 at the University of Minnesota. It aims to connect coders, cartographers, data visualizers, designers, developers and others to improve public services and give residents better access to government data.

The event is hosted by Open Twin Cities, the seven core metro counties, the Citizens League, the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, the U's Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, Metro GIS and MnGeo.

The event is free, but registration is required. For more information, go to hennepin.us/geocode/.

KELLY SMITH

Carver County

Public Works lauded for limiting road salt

The Carver County Public Works Department received an award this month from the Freshwater Society for reducing its use of salt on roads by about 800 tons annually since 2012.

The Freshwater Society, a St. Paul-based group dedicated to water conservation and protection, gave the department its Environmental Leadership Award. The department adopted new methods to limit salt, including upgrading its trucks, educating drivers and using more treated salt (which sticks better to road surfaces). Salt is now used in rural stretches only on hills, curves and intersections.

KEVIN DUCHSCHERE