Town briefs

Housing study group needs members Brooklyn Park is looking for people who want to serve on a study group that will look at multi-family housing in the city. The group will meet about six to eight times between March and August 2008.

Affordable housing, housing density and desired locations for these types of housing are all topics that will be discussed by the group. Preference will be given to Brooklyn Park residents, but the Economic Development Authority, which will appoint 18 people to the group, is also interested in hearing from local organizations and representatives from the business and faith communities.

The study group was created after residents expressed concern about a proposed apartment complex at Hwy. 610 and Noble Parkway earlier this fall. The City Council decided to halt all high-density residential development for one year so the issue could be studied.

For more information or to get an application, contact Kim Berggren at kimberly. berggren@brooklynpark.org or 763-493-8050.

Fire budget set after $60,000 decrease After initially seeking an $85,000 reduction from the 2008 West Metro Fire District Budget, the Crystal City Council approved the budget Monday with a $60,000 decrease. The New Hope and Crystal City Councils split the cost of operating the West Metro Fire District with New Hope contributing 48.37 percent of the total budget and Crystal contributing 51.63 percent.

The original 2008 budget request proposal was for $2,115,428, an increase of $737,360 from the 2007 budget of $1,378,068.

In 2007, reserves from the general fund were used to lower the contribution of the cities, but in 2008 reserves will not be used to offset the costs to the cities. Both City Councils met in November and agreed to the $60,000 reduction.

Police chief to leave for job with BCA Blaine police chief Dave Johnson is leaving the department to become the new executive director of CriMNet, a statewide information-sharing initiative that is part of the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. CriMNet is meant to help the state's 1,100 police departments, sheriff's offices, jails, prosecutors, probation agencies and other criminal justice agencies better share information electronically.

Johnson has been the police chief in Blaine since 1996. His last day is scheduled to be in early January.

Builder is recycling cell phones for a cause TJB Homes, the Blaine builder recently featured on the TV show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," is collecting cell phones and PDAs as part of a drive to buy phone calling cards for soldiers stationed outside the country.

TJB is collecting the phones on behalf of Cell Phones for Soldiers, a group that sells the phones to recyclers for about $5 and then buys calling cards for U.S. troops. Call 763-780-2944 for more information. To find other drop-off sites in the state, visit www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com and select Minnesota in the drop-down menu.

Public invited to share ideas on library system Ramsey County Library will meet today from 7 to 9 p.m. at Shoreview City Hall, 4600 Victoria St. N., to discuss the future of the system.

The library system is holding the meeting as part of a discussion about long-range planning for buildings and services. The discussion will mostly focus on the Shoreview library, but people are encouraged to offer systemwide suggestions. Call 651-486-2200 for more information.

LORA PABST AND ERIC HANSON