North/east metro briefs: Ramsey County suburbs, St. Paul seek faster response times

Roseville this month approved a Closest Emergency Unit Dispatching Joint Powers Agreement aimed at sending the nearest firefighters and other responders, regardless of city borders.

The program is to kick off this fall. Along with Roseville and St. Paul, partners include Falcon Heights, Lauderdale, Little Canada, Maplewood, New Brighton, North St. Paul, White Bear Lake and the Lake Johanna Fire Department.

The agreement is aimed in particular at structure fires and cardiac arrests, where only a few minutes can result in lives saved and limit property damage. The agreement stems from a 2014 initiative of the Ramsey County Fire Chiefs Association that looked into shared services.

David Peterson

The Washington County board on Tuesday approved a special election to fill the Second District seat left vacant by the death this month of Commissioner Ted Bearth.

The election will be held the same time as the regularly scheduled general election on Nov. 8. If more than two candidates file for the office, a primary will be held Aug. 9.

Candidate filings will be May 17-31.

The Second District, which takes in a strip of west-central Washington County, includes Birchwood, Landfall, Oakdale, Pine Springs, Willernie and portions of Mahtomedi, White Bear Lake and Woodbury.

David Peterson

Woodbury is choosing permanent names for several parks, replacing some purely informal labels with names that will stick.

A group known as the Park Lands and Recreational Facilities Naming Advisory Committee has come up with the following revisions:

• Garbe Park, formerly known as Garbe Well Park

• Stonemill Farms Park, formerly known as Stonemill Farms South Park

• Andy's Bark Park, formerly known as Dale Road Park

• Prairie Ridge Park, formerly known as Dale Woods Park

• Valley Creek Park, formerly known as Valley Creek Open Space

David Peterson

Crews at the park will remove the existing boardwalk and install a new one and a fishing pier, with added accessibility for people with disabilities. They will also add four shade structures at the beach and restore shoreline.

The work will take around three months, in stages. In the meantime, temporary fencing will be placed across the trails leading to the boardwalk area "to keep park users safe," officials said in a statement.

For more information, call 651-714-3720 or contact ahoward@ci.woodbury.mn.us.

David Peterson

Woodbury needs paid and volunteer election judges for the Aug. 9 primary and the Nov. 8 general election.

To learn more about the positions and to get application forms, visit the Washington County Elections website, contact electionjudges@co.washington.mn.us or call 651-430-6790.

David Peterson

New Richmond, Wis., has received a $10,000 grant for a skate park that the city plans to start building in May.

The grant came from the Tony Hawk Foundation, which helps local groups develop skate parks. More than $92,000 has been raised for the project, which has a goal of about $100,000.

The concrete skate park, to be located at Hatfield Park, is slated for a grand opening in late June.