Recent actions

March 26, 2008 at 12:33AM

RECENT ACTIONS

BROOKLYN PARK

March 17: The City Council discussed changes to the ordinance that regulates garbage container storage. The current city law says garbage containers must be "out of public view insofar as possible." But the city gets hundreds of calls every year about violations of the rule. Of the 4,785 code violations in 2007, 22 percent were for garbage containers in public view.

Keith Jullie, code enforcement/public health manager, said the ordinance will be reworded to be more specific about how far out of public view a garbage container must be, because most people don't know the rule. He expects the changes to be ready for council approval by mid-April. "A lot of people say, 'Doesn't the city have more important things to check than trash cans?'" he said. "But if little things go unchecked for too long, you can end up with a neighborhood where property maintenance goes down and crime goes up."

The city will issue warnings if residents are in violation but eventually may issue citations for $200.

COLUMBIA HEIGHTS

The city has selected Scott Nadeau, a lieutenant with the Brooklyn Center Police Department, as the new police chief. Former chief Tom Johnson resigned last October to pursue a second career with the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. The other finalists for the chief position were Jay Henthorne, a lieutenant with the Richfield Police Department, and Jeff Luther, special agent in charge of the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Nadeau will likely start near the end of April, said Mayor Gary Peterson. His salary will be about $91,000.

RAMSEY

March 18: The City Council considered plans to move ahead with a trip to Washington, D.C., to work on securing a Ramsey station on the Northstar Commuter Rail Line. A few members of the City Council, the city administrator, and representatives from the Tinklenberg Group are hoping to meet with congressional leaders, Federal Transit Administration staff and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway officials. The trip is tentatively scheduled for two days in mid-April and will cost approximately $10,000. The 2008 council contingency fund will be the main source of funding, but the travel cost for the Tinklenberg representatives will be covered by funds the council previously approved for work on securing a Northstar station.

LORA PABST

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